Red Lipstick
by DarkHairedVeela
Summary: My mother was only Fire Lady for seven months before she ran away. My name is Ursa, daughter of Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Toph. I'm determined to find out what drove my mother away from her home, if I'm given the chance at least.
1. Undiscovered Fears

INSPIRED BY MY RED LIPSTICK

My mother was only sixteen when she came to the Fire Nation palace as Fire Lord Zuko's fiancé. They married within three months of her arrival and were truly in love. Within the next month they announced that they were pregnant. The nation, according to my mother was overjoyed. There were parties every night. Lanterns remained lit throughout most of the night and there was music that stretched to all corners of the nation.

But something happened in the short period of time that she spent as Fire Lady. Something happened to make her runaway from her responsibilities—from everything she loved.

She was four months pregnant when she left. I was born the day after the summer solstice. She would begin each of my birthdays like, "You're father would call it fate, I personally think its just coincidence." I liked the idea of it being fate though.

All i knew was living in secret. We were constantly moving from home to home because a runaways job was never over. I lived in the stories she would weave for me. She told me about the 100 years war and her part in it. She introduced me to the Avatar when I was seven. She sparred with me, helping me to get my fire bending stronger even if she wasn't one herself.

Lately she's told me about my father. The king—the Fire Lord. Whichever way you wanted to put it he was royalty. I never got to meet him though because my mother decided to leave and I hated her for it.

I am fifteen years old and I have never spoken to my father a man I know I can trust and love thanks to all the stories I've heard of him. My name is Ursa and I'm determined to discover exactly what it was that forced my mother to raise me without my father.

"Mom, I want to go the Palace."

There was a silence as Toph stared blankly at a spot just above my chin. I felt the ground beneath me give a slight tremor. The palace was always a touchy subject for her. Suddenly she gave a hearty laugh that boomed in our small kitchen.

"You're really a very funny girl, Ursa," she said. "Reminds me of myself."

"I'm serious," I said.

My mother slammed her fork onto the table so hard that it bounced back up a few feet in the air. "Don't you dare ask that of me!"

"I'm not making you come with me," I screamed back.

We've had so many screaming matches that it had become second nature.

"I will not have my daughter in the clutches of those fire benders!" she said indignantly.

I scoffed at that. Her own daughter was a fire bender for Agni's sake. "The war is over, dearest," I spat. "You're just jealous. If you can't be there with Dad and live the happily ever after you deserve then no one can!" My breathing was heavy and I was so angry I was afraid I would set the house on fire. "Did you ever consider, once in your life that I'm not satisfied with my life right now? Has it ever crossed your mind that I deserve to be with Dad?"

"Of course, Ursa—" Her expression was pained and her blind eyes were watering now. Good.

"No, mom. You've been too scared to think about much else than keeping me fed and healthy. You're afraid that they'll find us. You're afraid that they'll take you back to the palace. You're afraid that you're still in . . ."

"Dammit, Ursa! Shut up!" the woman shrieked.

I closed my eyes, they were burning with hot tears.

"I want to meet him, Mom," I said after another stretch of silence. I heard my mother sniffle quietly from across the table.

"Then go meet him. Leave before lunch." She was kicking me out.

They weren't the warm farewells I was hoping for, in fact they felt like knives in my lungs. But that was my mother—she was to prideful for her own good.

"I will. Thank you, mother." I stood from the table to retreat to my room where I would pack the necessities. The palace was on the opposite side of the Fire Nation and a night's stay at an inn should be expected.

When I had packed a small bag filled with a new set of cloths, a hairbrush, some jewelry and my favorite ink pad I sat on my bed with a sigh. I flopped onto my back and my eyes immediately gravitated to the post on my ceiling. It was of the Fire Lord. My father. He looked to be about twenty-five in the picture. The avatar gave it to me when my mother was busy doing some minor sand bending on the black beaches.

I smiled at the picture. "I'm coming, Dad. I'll see you tomorrow." I felt a tear slide down my cheek.

I quickly wiped at my eyes when I heard the pit-pat of my mother's bare feet approach my door. Her face was red and puffy, her cheeks stained with the salty tracks of tears. She approached my bed and collapsed face first with the grace that could only belong to Toph Bei Fong. Her voice was muffled but I heard it all the same.

"Once upon a time not so long ago, in a kingdom not so far away . . ." she sobbed. It was moments like these that I remembered just how much my mother had been in love with the Fire Lord and how much she missed her once happy and fulfilled life. She would never go back though. Not if I asked her.

"A war ended," I supplied. I had heard this story so many times. It was engraved into my mind, my heart, my being.

My mother's hand reached out for mine. "I'm sorry I've kept you away from him. "

"I know," I said my voice soft. I couldn't really forgive her.

She breathed in deeply, trying to find strength in the air. "You will have to convince them somehow that you are my daughter. The Fire Nation princess."

"Yeah . . ." I hadn't a clue as to how I would accomplish that.

"Tomorrow is Zuko's birthday," she whispered quickly, as if just saying his name would bring her back to him, and that was something i wasn't sure she would ever be ready for. "You remember Sokka? From my stories?" I nodded but remembered my mom was blind so I grunted. "There was a big announcement last week in the market place that he would be arriving at the Fire Nation Port tomorrow morning. He'll be here, no doubt, for the celebration. He's your best chance at getting into the palace."

"Okay." I began to feel the nerves kicking in. What was I thinking? My existence has been kept a secret since my birth. No one knows who I am except for my mother and the Avatar, and he's not supposed to tell _anyone_! He's sworn not to. How was I going to get in the Palace?

"Remember how I used to wear my hair when you were younger? Take my headband and wear it in your hair." To me it sounded pretty ridiculous and she could feel it through the floor her feet were barely grazing over. "Trust me," she commanded. And I had to, especially when she used that voice.


	2. A Man Named Longshot

Authors Note: I'm really happy about the reviews I got for the first chapter and I hope you like this one. I loved writing it :)

I straightened the straps of my pack on my back so that the weight was distributed evenly. I had been walking for about an hour and my mind kept replaying snippets of my memories of Mom tucking me into bend, telling me her stories.

I found one of the earliest ones and felt myself getting lost in it . . .

Toph was fourteen now and she found herself very much in love with the Fire Lord standing next to her. As they walked through the palace corridors she felt her hands brush against his as they turned a corner. She felt an unnatural, though completely welcome warmth travel up her fingertips and to her shoulder and then to her neck.

She had never felt this way about anyone before. Why did she love him so much? She was almost ashamed with herself. Almost.

"What are you thinking, Toph?" Zuko asked.

"The war," she answered, though technically she was thinking about him. She was _trying_ to think about the war though. It had been exactly a year since the fall of the Phoenix King.

"Hmm," he inquired when he remembered she couldn't see his expectant stare.

"It's almost unbelievable. Stuff like that doesn't happen to normal teenagers but we were in the middle of all the action . . . you know what I mean, Sparky?"

Zuko laughed and she thought she felt her heart stop. "Normal teenagers don't have eyes on their feet."

"Normal teenagers don't have scars on their faces." There was a moment of silence and Toph was afraid she had gone too far. Stupid foot-mouth disease. "But don't worry," she said quickly. "I think it looks dead sexy."

Zuko gave her a shove. "You're blind, you idiot." She could tell he was smiling by the way his voice jumped up and down the walls of the halls.

"Oh, yeah." She punched him in the gut forcing him to lean forward so he could catch his breath. She reached for his face, her fingers searching for the scar that everyone made such a big fuss about. The skin around his left eye was rough and dry, but she knew there was more behind it than its tough exterior. Feelings as soft as rain and as smooth as silk. It was Zuko. "I meant it _felt_ dead sexy."

Zuko choked on his laughter still trying to catch his breath, but it wasn't so much the punch to the gut that affected him when he had Toph's hands on his face . . .

I felt myself being pushed and pulled wherever the crowd wanted. My mind felt fuzzy and I had a headache that hurt just enough to distract me from my mission. I knew that this was what I wanted—to meet my father. To know he loves me even though he's never seen me. I was scared though. I had my doubts just like my mother did. But what she _really_ doubted I have never been able to figure out. It's kind of hard to find out what scares my mother. Not being able to earth bend is the only legitimate fear that I could think of.

I know she didn't doubt the Fire Lord. She always seemed as sure as her element when she talked of him. She wasn't scared of him. She had loved him, maybe she still did. I don't know. But what else would push her away from a life with her husband and daughter?

I wondered if his voice would sound familiar. It sounds silly, especially since I was born after my mom left, but what if those months were enough and I heard him speak a million leagues under the sea. I had nothing better to do than listen anyway.

With the possibility of hearing his voice I shoved passed a group of people whom I had been stuck behind for some time. I was distantly surprised when I heard no retaliation but I kept walking. I now commanded the crowd, no longer letting it create its own course for me. I was going to get to that castle and I was going to get . . .

What _did_ I really expect myself to do once I got there? Once I met the Fire Lord, my father, what would happen? Would he welcome me with open arms or treat me as the plague. He already had another child to look after. A son, named Lu Minh. He didn't really need me did he? I felt my eyes water at the prospect. He needed to. I needed him to.

Another of my mother's stories pushed itself into my mind, pulling my attention from the crowd once again. . .

"Quit it, Toph," said the young Fire Lord with an exhausted disdain.

Toph, busy poking at Zuko's person did not pay much attention to anything else. Much less something the _princess_ said. Never.

She poked him again and he scowled. "Toph don't make me call the guards. Don't think I wouldn't do it." She poked him one last time before everything stilled. Zuko looked over at the blind earth bender who was sitting on the grass next to him as he read a few legal documents.

Toph liked to visit the Fire nation as much as she could. Zuko suspected that she just wanted to get away from home, but she claimed that she just loved to feel the volcano rumble underneath her feet. She was an aggravating little brat, but he felt she was his only friend these days.

He smirked as he quietly went back to reading up on a court case that needed his supervision. It was about land ownership, again. It something he felt he really shouldn't have to bother himself with especially if it was normally easy to resolve. He hated this part of the job.

Suddenly he felt a bony finger jab into his side making him jump. He glared at the culprit who was "staring" off in the distance with an innocent smile plastered on her face.

Zuko flicked a flame at her exposed big toe. It wasn't hot enough to burn her, nor was it close enough, but it succeeded in making her freak out about her precious feet. "Whoa there!" she shrieked in fright. Zuko tackled her, his hands pushing down on her shoulders so she would not move. "Ugh! Get off of me Sparky! You're heavy," she complained. Then with a more threatening voice she growled, "Who do you think you're dealing with?"

"A very annoying girl," he said glaring at her, not caring that she couldn't see it. "Who do you think _you're_ dealing with?" he countered. He was about to proclaim to the world that he was the Fire Lord for Agni's sake when her next words cut through the air.

"A boy," she said and Zuko saw something in her face soften. She wasn't being the hard core Toph most everyone knew her to be—she was being the girl who had talked to him during the intermission at the Ember Island Theatre. "A boy who doesn't have to work every single moment of the day," she elaborated.

Zuko smiled softly, and found his hand reaching for her cheek. His thumb grazed over a couple freckles, and before he could think otherwise, he had his lips pressed to the corners of hers.

Somewhere a cough from a nearby guard woke them up and Zuko pulled away, returning to the blasted paperwork. Toph touched her lips and smiled. Zuko silently hoped that the _real_ reason she kept visiting the Fire Nation was him.

The Fire Lord and earth bender would have a lot to think about that night. . .

"Watch where you're going will ya'?" a gruff voice penetrated my mind, startling me. There was dull throb traveling up and down my arm and I could only assume that I had run into the tall man standing before me, sending daggers at me with his eyes.

Oops.

"Oh sorry," I replied, but I wasn't really now that I thought about it. I am Toph's daughter after all. He should've been watching where he was going as well. The man scoffed at my apology. I decided I liked the man. Before he could walk away I spoke again. "Hey! Could you point me in the direction of the nearest Inn? I'm not familiar with this part of the Fire Nation and I need a place to stay."

The man brows scrunched up as he gave me a once over. He must have seen something because his little slits of eyes widened. He looked panicked as he pulled me off to the side of the market so we wouldn't obstruct the late night shoppers. "How old are you?" he asked sternly. His eyes were flashing from side to side.

"Fifteen," I said a little freaked out. I should've lied—I didn't know this guy. But it was too late.

"Where'd ya' say you were headed again?"

"I didn't." The man brought his skittish eyes back to mine and he cocked his head to the side expectantly. I sighed before answering, "The port."

The man touched his chin thoughtfully. He had dark, almost beady eyes but they didn't look threatening. There was some stubble that peppered his face around his mouth. He looked like he might've been in his late twenties or early thirties. He was carrying a bow over his shoulder and a pack that contained what looked like a million arrows.

"Alright, well, I think you should stay at my place for the night," he said. "Me and my family live about a two hour walk from the port."

I paused. It sounded like a good deal, and was much more appealing than having to find some shady tavern. But I didn't even know this guy's name.

"Uhhh . . . I don't think that would be a very—"

"No I insist. We'll give you a free dinner even." He had this air about him that made me want to trust him. My mother always told me to trust my instincts. Maybe it was because she was blind—even though she had earth bending she still had to rely on _something_. Keeping that in mind I realized that my instincts weren't telling me that this guy was dangerous. They were telling me that I should trust him—that I should stay at his home. When I hesitated he spoke again. "That's my wife over there," he gestured to a young woman working at some perfume stall. I watched as she smiled kindly at a girl who was inspecting a bottle. I looked back at the man; he shifted his bow on his shoulder more securely.

"Okay," I said. "That would be great."

"Great, I'm heading home right now," he sounded relieved. Maybe I would figure out why he had become so jumpy all of a sudden. "Just give me a second to tell Anya about ya'." He had walked maybe ten steps when he froze and turned back to me. "Sorry, but for the record my name is, well . . . just call me Longshot."

Weird. . .

"Ursa," I supplied.

"I know kid," he said almost sadly. "I know."

Authors Note: So what did you think? I'm trying to figure out how to portray the "other part" of this story (the other part being Toph and Zuko's past), so bear with me! I hope it wasn't too confusing.


	3. More Secrets

A/N: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Just the plot. And anything else not recognized.  
please ignore the stupid lines (if they're there) my computer just would not work with me.

They told Zuko on a cold day. Cold for the Fire Nation that is. It was Sokka who knocked on his door and the moment Zuko looked at his face he knew the answer. She was gone.

"Zuko . . ." Sokka said his hands tugging at his new sword uncomfortably. He had built it, just like he had with his space sword, which was long gone. "I'm sorry." It was all he could think of to say.

Zuko closed his eyes, he felt his energy leaving him. He felt freezing. His warmth had been stolen, stolen by _her. _His wife. She' d been gone for a month. She left him

"If an earth bender doesn't then she doesn't have to be," he said. Uncle Iroh would've said something like that. He lost his wife and son too. Was Zuko destined to a lonely life as Fire Lord? Would he have nothing to look forward to other than tea and Pai sho?

"Dued, we can keep searching. Toph will have to show up somewhere sometime, especially in her . . . ah condition."

Zuko thought that made it all worse. They were about to have a child together. "A minny us," she said once. And she left with Minny Us. Zuko felt deflated, completely and utterly exhausted.

"No," Zuko said. "Stop the searches."

"But—" Sokka's face was scrunched. Toph meant something to him too.

"Do as I say!" he snapped. Zuko sucked in a breath, turning away from his friend. "I'm the Fire Lord."

"Oh don't pull that with me."

"Watch me," Zuko challenged.

There was moment of tense silence. Sokka was fighting the need to cry over Toph, but he was a warrior and they didn't do that so he settled with just being angry at Zuko.

"I don't give a damn if you're Fire Lord or not, Zuko. Grow some balls! You're not the only one Toph has made an impression on. You're not the only person who will miss her."

Zuko was suddenly there inches from Sokka's face. He was clutching the warriors clothes. Sokka stared in to the his eyes, daring him to do it. "Go on incinerate me. Shish-ka-bob me. Do it Scarface."

Zuko yelled and Sokka was brought back to the time where they were enemies. It felt a lot like that at the moment. Zuko shook him, shoving him into the door. Sokka could've sworn that Zuko's eyes were on fire, literally. He looked demented and Sokka realized maybe he shouldn't have egged him on.

Suddenly the fire in Zuko's eyes went out, like someone had dumped a bucket of icy water all over him. His mouth was set in some sort of sadistic grimace that Sokka hoped he would never see again. He was extinguished and he understood that it was all Tophs fault.

"I can't do it," he said. His voice was strangled and there were tears falling down his face. Unexpectedly Zuko rested his forehead on Sokka's shoulder.

"What do you mean you can't do it?" Sokka asked confused. "I thought you loved her, man."

"I did, I mean I do, but so did she." Zuko lifted his head and Sokka saw just how broken his friend looked. "But she's running away. Don't you get it? She's not coming back."

"You don't know that, Zuko . . ." Sokka said but he wasn't so sure himself. It was Toph they were talking about afterall.

"My mother loved me," he retaliated, his jaw clenched. "But she had to run and I haven't seen her since. Toph loved me and she's left me. They're the same in my eyes."

They were quiet for awhile. Zuko let go of Sokka before walking away to his desk. Sokka cleared his thoat. "So you want me to call off the search?"

The Fire Lord nodded. "After you do that you're free to go home. Your vacation started a week ago."

Sokka nodded before he made to leave. He almost had the door shut when he sighed in frustration. "Uhh . . . no, I think I'll stay here awhile longer." Zuko gave him a questioning stare, but Sokka didn't think he would ever forget the broken expression that had lived in Zuko's face just a minute before. The ghost of it was still there. "Suki can wait. I don't trust you to be alone right now. You might pull an Azula and let your brain rot."

Zuko looked away, a muscle twitching near his temple. He gave a curt nod. "Fine."

O.0.O.0.O

When we reached Longshots home we were immediately greeted by a boy with messy black hair and dark eyes. "My oldest," Longshot said stepping though the small gate and onto a path that led to the front door.

The boy ran up obviously excited to have a visitor. "My name is jet!" he said proudly. He had a small lisp but it was barely noticeable. "I'm ten years old!" I grinned back at him as he pulled me into the house.

It looked much like my own with my mother. Most houses in the Fire Nation had the same layout because there was just so much in the country. Most of the variety had been poured into the people, leaving little left for the homes. But this home seemed to have _more_. I felt kind of fuzzy but the good kind. Like I could get lost in there and lose track of time it was so comfortable. A fire crackled and popped on the far side of the living room. Longshot disappeared for a moment into the kitchen before reappearing with a kettle. He hung it over a rack above the fire and took a seat in a rather comfortable looking chair.

He sent his son a questioning look. "School?"

Jet's face scrunched up. "Boring."

Longshot nodded thoughtfully. He reminded me of my mother. Well he was less . . . _there_ than my mother was. And he wasn't as bold as my mother. I didn't think there was anyone quite like her. But she and Longshot seemed the same. Like they weren't really suited for the sedentary life. It was like it was a new thing for them and they were only just getting used to it.

They were warriors. Fighters. They probably never, not once in their lives thought of starting a family.

Maybe that was why my mother ran . . .

"Jet, I need you to do me a favor," the man said leaning his elbows into his knees. His son puffed out his chest ready for the challenge. "Go to the market and bring your mother home safely." I had a feeling Longshot was going to give me answers. Once his son left. What I was about to hear was secret. "That is your mission," he continued. "Do you think you can handle it?"

Jet gave a salute before sprinting out of the house ready for an adventure.

"How do you know me?" the question had been burning a hole through my tongue ever since I had met Longshot.

There was possibly the longest moment of silence I had ever experienced. I was afraid he hadn't heard me or had forgotten my question. I was about to repeat it when he spoke. "You look just like your mother." His voice was reverent, not because of the subject. It was like he spoke like that all the time. Softly.

Reverent voice or not, I froze. If he knew my mother that meant he knew my father. Or at least knew who he was. Right? That was why he was all jumpy before.

"Oh . . ." It was all I could think of. Things were just getting a little too weird for me. Longshot remained silent waiting for me to ask him something. "How'd you know her?" I asked, swallowing, trying to get my mouth working again. "My mom, I mean."

"I don't really know her," he admitted. "I just remember her."

"From _where_?" I asked my mouth belatedly decided it wanted to become a fly trap.

Longshot groaned as he stood up, as if his body ached—which was weird. He didn't look old. He started to stir whatever was in the kettle. I assumed it was some tea. "The war." He made the words sound long, as long as the war itself. He looked over at me and in his eyes I saw horrors that I didn't really understand. I looked away. He moved back to his seat. "You're trying to get to your father," he said.

He seemed a little smug about it—like he's been waiting for this moment for a long time. I felt the rebellious spirit crackle and pop inside me, just like the fire. "What's it to ya?"

A throaty chuckle escaped his mouth. "My paycheck." Longshot was inspecting his bow in a way that annoyed me. I wanted to break his precious weapon. He should be paying more attention to the conversation! To the daughter of the Fire Lord. I was the princess! "I'm a spy of sorts," he elaborated. "I keep tabs on you—from a distance of course—and I'm paid for it."

"Who pays you?" I asked, my eyes squinting warily. Was I right in accepting his offer to stay at his home for the night. If he's a spy . . .?

The moment I asked, I knew I wouldn't be getting an answer. Longshot glanced up at me. There was a mixture of both amusement and sadness in his black eyes. I knew he wasn't of Fire Nation descent. Where ever he came from it wasn't here. But where was he from?

Again the fury I felt towards my mother flared. Why couldn't I grow up with a father? Why couldn't I be normal?

"Who _are_ you?" I asked. Meeting my father wasn't supposed to blow up into some big mystery.

Just then the front door opened and Jet burst into the living room, running around all over the place, a little girl that looked half his age was chasing him. The woman from the perfume stall walked in. I was surprised she didn't come in covered with a cloud of different layers of perfume. She smelled normal; like smoke. She looked tired but happy. Her name was Anya I remembered.

I gave Longshot a glare, knowing that my chance to ask questions was over.

When his wife's eyes found mine a sudden calm washed over me. Maybe it was the golden eyes that were just like mine, just like my fathers. Her hair wasn't as dark as most Fire Nation citizens. It was almost blonde, something I had never heard of, much less seen. Her cheekbones were high and though she was young she had wrinkles around her mouth. A sign that she constantly smiled.

She gave me one of her smiles and I became even more calm. "Hello. It's nice to finally meet the Missing Princess."

"Anya, not so loud," Longshot hissed conspiratorially

"Oh, Hyo. Stop your worrying," Anya sighed. It took me a moment to realize that Hyo was Longshot's real name. Or maybe he just had some really messed up parents and _Hyo_ was actually his nickname. "Dinner will be ready in a half hour," she said. "Ursa, would you like to help me?"

Longshot growled, warningly. "Anya . . ."

Anya threw her arms up in the air in exasperation. "Oh for Agni's sake! She's just going to cut the vegetables. Your precious princess isn't as pampered as you think."

Defiantly, I stuck my tongue out at Longshot for thinking I was pampered. He _did_ meet my mother, yes? No matter how briefly. Anya was cool. Way cooler than Longshot. It was a _long shot_ he managed to marry someone like Anya.

O.0.O.0.O

That night I lay awake for hours on the makeshift cot Anya had set up for me. I hadn't talked to Longshot for the rest of the evening. I found him frustrating—and he seemed fine with it.

I was going to see_ him_ tomorrow. I wasn't worried about convincing anyone. I _was_ Ursa. Princess Ursa. When Mom used to tuck me into bed she would say "goodnight, Princess Ursa," after her stories. I had always thought of it as just something for you to say to make me feel special but now I knew it was who I really was.

I raised my hand in the dark. I know I looked like my mother, but did I look like my father? I knew our eyes were the same, but were there other things? Did I smile like him? Did I laugh like him? A ball of fire appeared in my hand. The warmth coursed up and down my arm, comforting me. I smiled. Did I fire bend like him?

I was too excited to sleep, I decided, so I got up from my cot and folded the blankets. I retrieved my pack of belongings. After a moment of searching I found my Ink tablet at the bottom of the sack. As quickly and as quietly as I could I wrote a short note to Longshot and his family thanking them for their hospitality and such. I placed the note on the folded blankets and dove back in for Mom's ancient earth kingdom headband. I somehow managed to get my mass of dark hair up into the same do I remember my mother wearing hers in during my childhood.

Then again, she never saw what she was doing so why should I?

I was about to leave through the door when a voice penetrated the darkness.

"Good luck, Princess Ursa."

I froze when I saw Longshots bowing form. I gave a nod.

"Just because the Palace is beautiful, doesn't mean the people inside it are," he warned.

A flash of angry lightening traveled through my veins. "If you're talking about my father's scar, I already know about it. And if you think that will change anything you've got another thing coming."

"If that's what you heard me say then I guess you weren't really listening," he retorted.

That stung, but I pushed past it. "Goodbye, Longshot." I walked out of the home and towards the Port. I had only three hours to walk. I'll be that much closer to _finally_ meeting him.

A/N: Well did you like it? Finally! Next chapter there will definitely be some Zuko/Ursa action. Plus some Sokka/Ursa. AND OC/Ursa action but I know you were only excited about the first two haha please revieww


	4. Opposition

Mom always told me to love my country. She said that the Fire Nation was the best thing that had ever happened to herm not counting the war, but even then it didn't really affect her until she joined the Avatar.

When she was young she was an Earth Kingdom noble. She was—_is_ blind and her parents, my grandparents, dubbed her as "helpless" and "fragile". Yeah that's where you laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. Because of her _precious_ state of helplessness she was locked away so no one could find her. So no one could know that the Bei Fongs had produced a defect—I mean a "handicapped" child.

It sounds a lot like what Mom has done to me, only she's still the "fragile" one in this scenario.

By the time the war ended the whole world knew of her condition—blindness. They also knew that she was a Master earthbender. The same who taught the _Avatar_. The new court that the newly crowned Fire Lord Zuko had arranged absolutely loved her. Loved the symbolism. How Toph Bei Fong had triumphed over the odds of not being able to see. It was like how the Avatar managed to defeat the Phoenix King during the summer solstice and restored the world with peace.

Unfortunately, there are those who still wished the Avatar and my father dead but what can you do? No matter who you are, no matter where you go, there will always be opposition.

Maybe that was another reason my mother became a fire Nation Citizen so quickly. She's always said she loved the culture. She loved the venders and she loved the con-artists. She loved the food and especially the stone architecture. She said that they felt more beautiful than the ones in the Earth Kingdom. She liked how everyone knew her as opposed to when she lived as a prisoner in the Earth Kingdom.

Hiding me away was probably the most painful experience for her when she abandoned the Fire Nation court. But she told me to love it. Love the government that she had fled. To love my father as if she still loved him herself. There was many times where I wished Mom's eyes weren't so blank—that I could see what she was thinking was feeling about Dad.

She was a mystery I was only half willing to unfold.

O.0.O.0.O

It was only about four in the morning when I arrived at the Fire Nation Port. It was a large place, especially since the Fire Navy really was the best in the world. Even at the early hour the place was buzzing with activity. I made my way to Dock Seven where the Ambassador Sokka would be arriving. Dock Seven was the most popular dock in the fire Nation; it was where the Royal family went to board a ship. There was a long carpeted path that traveled straight through the Nation and to the palace.

Unsurprisingly, Dock Seven was the source of all the activity at the Port that morning. Red and white flowers were being placed ornately along the path. When someone yelled at me for being in the way I raised my hands in surrender and found a place where I could wait without getting in anyone's way again.

As I waited I watched the sun rise. Without much thought I immediately began the breathing exercises Mom had beat into me. Over the years I've concluded that she "watched" her husband practice his exercises and that was the only reason she was able to teach me, not being a firebender herself. She taught me how to hold my arms almost like a triangle in front of my chest and to cross my legs beneath me. I breathed in deep through my nose and then out with my mouth. I hadn't realized how stressed I had been until then, I could feel all the negative chi leave my body and a smile tug at my lips, something I hadn't been able to do the entire journey that morning despite my excitement.

My eyes closed, I began to imagine what he would do when he saw me. He would see me and my familiarity would shock him.

"Hi, Dad," I would say with a little hitch in my voice.

"Dad?" he would ask confused. He would have a hard wrapping his head around it all. Even though he knew his wife was pregnant with his child he never knew would become of it when she had run away.

"Yeah, I'm your daughter, and Toph's. See I have your eyes." Then there would be some awkward silence but heh, what can you do? Life was filled with awkward moments.

Then he would ask me softly with a smile and watery eyes. "Are you here to stay?"

"Only if you want it," My heart would be hammering against my soul awaiting his answer. Even if he declined, I realized I would probably find a way around it anyway.

Then he would gather me in his arms and kiss my head. "Yes. I want you home." My first hug with my dad.

I opened my eyes to a much brighter and hardly believably busier Port. It would be perfect. If only Sokka would get here sooner. I got up and began to push my way through the large amount of people that had gathered around Dock Seven.

Before I could even get a view of any kind of ship I heard cheering. They were here. He was about to come off the ship and I was nowhere near close enough to him. I had to hurry. I broke into a run, not caring about who got in my way; I would be gone by the time they realized they had been hit. This was my only chance and I was about to miss it.

I was getting closer to the fringes of the crowd. Flashes of movement on the lowered ramp of the ship appeared as it dropped in and out of sight in the gaps of people. There were flashes of blue—two of them but I couldn't tell which the hero I was searching for was. They were off the ramp.

I should have been stopped by guards. The crowd shouldn't have let me pass. I should have been gripped by fear but it happened. I had broken through the mob and was now standing on the long red pathway. I glanced on either side of me as the crowd quieted. Fingers were pointing at me and I started to feel nervous. I wasn't used to so many eyes on me at once. But I didn't have time to worry about my nervousness for too long because of my imminent death. One of the two men who had walked down the ramp had his dual weapons crossed at my throat. They weren't swords, more like hooks but they were just as terrifying as any other sharp object. They looked old. There were scratches all over the metal as well as rust in some places. The weapon was obviously well used. His face was the most frightening of all. His eyes glared me down and they could only be described as dark and . . ._ deranged_? His teeth were bared as though if he could, he would hiss at me.

"Who are you?" he growled.

I couldn't answer—my silence adding to that of the crowds. This man, or boy since he looked to be my age seemed so angry. He couldn't be Sokka. Not only was he supposed to be a grown man by now but Sokka was supposed to be lighthearted and almost harmless according to Mom's stories. Somehow, the thought of my mother's stories gave me strength. "I need to speak to Sokka."

The boy looked like he was about to disagree by chopping my head off when the man in question finally approached. He quickly put a hand on the boy's shoulder, squeezing tightly. Tyro," he sighed exhaustedly. When the boy, Tyro lowered his weapons and backed up the man turned to me. "I'm Ambassador Sokka, if that's who you're look—" he trailed off his eyes widening as he gapped at something above my head.

At first I was confused until I remembered my hair and how I had mimicked my mother's style. Self consciously I raised my hand to touch the headband. The movement seemed to snap Sokka out of his trance.

"Guard!" he yelled and for a scary second I was afraid he was going to arrest me. When a guard approached us Sokka spoke again. "Please escort my son to the nearest falconry. Tyro," he gave his son a wary look, as if he didn't quite trust the boy. "Send a letter to the Fire Lord," I felt my heart jump at the mention of my father. "Tell him that—oh I don't know what to tell him. . . What do I tell him?" The Ambassador began scratching at his head fiercely. "Never mind," he decided. "Guard return to your post. Come on, we gotta get to the palace."

Sokka's hand latched on to the crook of my elbow, pulling me down the red pathway. I got the feeling he expected me to disappear any second. Tyro stood at my other side his hooks still out as he, probably hopefully, waited for action.

"Father, what is it?"

But Sokka wasn't listening. He was starring straight forward, muttering to himself. Suddenly he whipped his head around so fast that I was afraid he had broken something. His eyes were a much softer color compared to hi sons. Calm as the ocean. "Your mother is Toph."

I wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question. I nodded.

"I did not know she had a daughter," Tyro said suddenly glancing at me with interest and what looked a little like fear, though I couldn't understand why.

"No one did, son. What is your name?" he asked me.

"Ursa," I provided after clearing my throat. "After my fathers, mother."

Sokka smiled sadly at me. I received that look a lot lately. I wish I understood what happened between my mom and dad. Tyro had taken a few spooked steps away from me. He looked like I caused him pain—it was his turn to look terrified, I supposed. I didn't know what from but it was refreshing compared to all those sad smiles.

I hope my father wouldn't give me one.

O.0.O.0.O

All I wanted to do was run at full speed when we passed through the first gate and into the Palace boundaries. I wanted to be _inside_ already but Sokka's grip on my arm was too tight to ignore and my legs were shaking so bad that if he let go I was sure I would collapse. So I stuck with the painstakingly slow pace Ambassador Sokka seemed to be forcing himself into. If he wanted to get me to the castle as fast as he could why wouldn't he?

We had to pass through two more gates and five different courtyards before we finally reached the grand stairs that ascended to the largest doors I had ever seen. The Fire Nation insignia of a simple flame was engraved on the burgundy door with what was undoubtedly gold. The doors opened of their own accord which deep down I knew was ridiculous but I didn't really have the patience to locate the source. The doors were _opening_, and that's all I cared about.

I suddenly didn't know what to do with myself, especially when the Ambassador let go of my arm to enter the palace. I stared, my mouth open and eyes wide. Was I allowed in? I was a foot away from being _home_ and I couldn't even budge. I felt myself take a few steps back only to run right into Tyro who had distanced himself from his father and I a while before to take up the rear.

His dark eyes became deranged again and his hate dripped from his growing smirk. "Is the Missing Princess having second thoughts?" He pushed past me to follow his father. I glared after him as I stormed through the doors and into the palace. It wasn't until I heard the echoing thud of the doors closing behind me that I realized what I had done.

"Zuko!" I jumped when Sokka started to bellow the Fire Lords name like a mad man. He yelled and yelled as we walked from the entry room and through corridors. He yelled at the walls, at the servants, at the paintings, at everything until the Fire Lord was finally found walking in from an inward orchard.

I immediately cast my eyes to the ground, dreading the moment he would notice me.

"Zuko, where have you been? I've been calling for you for the last ten minutes."

"It's a big building, Sokka," Zuko replied. There was a sudden pause in conversation and I knew that he had finally noticed me. Once again feeling self conscious I brought my hand up to Mom's headband and ripped it off before looking up.

Instead of the expression of shock I had imagined my father donning, he looked at me with horror. I looked away catching a flash of Tyro leaning against a pillar with a disdain scowl on his face as also stared me, then at the Fire Lord.

"Why does she look like . . . look like . . ."

"She's my mother," I said a little hurt. This wasn't how this was supposed to happen. "And you are my father."

"Sokka?" Zuko said tensely with the same tone one would probably use to call for a guard.

"I don't know anything, man. She came out of nowhere. No one has heard anything of Toph much less her daughter."

"You don't believe me?" I whispered for fear my voice would fail me.

"Well, _I_ believe you," Sokka corrected. "You look just like Toph only not blind . . . you're not blind are you?"

I shook my head. I looked at my father again. He had the long hair of all the traditional Fire Lords, his scar was as prominent as it was in all the posters of him. He had a cleanly shaved face and his golden eyes were flickering all over the room as if he didn't know what to do with himself. Him and me both.

Sokka continued, "Right, I didn't think so. But despite the fact that you look just like your mother there are just so many reasons why you could . . . be . . ."

"Lying to you," I finished sadly.

"Have her prove it," Tyro said. Zuko looked up.

"Tyro?" Sokka said warningly.

But my brain was already reeling. _You will have to convince them somehow_, Mom had said. The stories she had told me were being flipped upside down and inside out in my head. I needed to find something that no one outside of the Gaang would know.

"Dad," Tyro grumbled angrily. "Stop shooting me down like that."

"I'm not shooting you down, Tyro, I'm just not sure if that is a practical situation."

"Defeating Ozai wasn't practical," Tyro retorted. "It was suicidal, but it worked out just fine.

"Quit it you two," The Fire Lord ordered. He had brought his gaze back to me. I suspected he knew that I was fishing for something to say. When our eyes locked I knew exactly what that was.

"I am Melon Lord."

Both Sokka's and Zuko's eyes lit up. My father approached me and his eyes were brimming over with tears. "She named me Ursa," I said, remembering he wouldn't know.

The Fire Lord looked down at me with wonder as if he was living in a dream but he still didn't look happy. He looked like he was having a nightmare. "Minny Us," he murmured. He brought his hand up as if to touch my face but he paused, suddenly afraid I might disappear at the moment he touched me.

"It's okay," I reassured him.

His hand, instead of touching my face touched my hair which had fallen out ifs bun when I took the headband off. "Too bad you couldn't bring her with you," he said before turning and walking off.

For a second I was able to hold it all together—I was able to hold my breath but eventually I had to breathe in the sharp air that cut me like a knife. I began to cry, not caring at all that Sokka and Tyro were both there to witness it. He didn't want me back, he had never had me. He wanted Mom. He wanted the Fire Lady. For the first time in my life I was jealous of my blind runaway of a mother.

No matter who you are, no matter where you go, there will always be opposition.


	5. The Mistress

A/N: Sorry about the longer than usual wait. School was a killer. But I hope you'll enjoy the chapter. A mystery will be solved :)

"Ursa?" Sokka said his face clouded over with concern. I had made the mistake of opening my eyes and now I just wanted to be lost again in the dark abysses that were the curtains of my eyelids. But they knew I had awoken from my sadness. Mostly. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

He didn't accept me . . .

"No," Sokka said suddenly. Oops, I must have said that out loud. "There's only so much pain a person can take and I think that you just reminded him of one."

"My mom."

"Yes."

"Gah," I mumbled rubbing my arm across my eyes.

"Ursa, he expects you to stay," Sokka ventured, taking a step closer to me. I gave him a suspicious look. "Okay," he said bringing his arms up in the air. "I'm not too sure about that but _I _expect you to stay. You're my guest now." The man moved so that he was standing in what he must have thought was a heroic stance. I thought he just looked silly. And constipated.

Nonetheless, I felt obliged to give him a smile, it felt more like a grimace. Movement to my right caught my eye and I turned to see Tyro pushing himself off the wall.

His expression was unreadable as he said, "I'm off to see Kohl, now."

"Be careful," Sokka warned, momentarily distracted from me as he scowled at his son.

"She can't hurt me Dad. She's Lu Minh's age."

I felt like I was listening to a reoccurring argument. I'm sure if I was in a better mood I would be trying to figure out why they were so hostile with each other. Alas, my father walked away.

Sokka rubbed his hands over his eyes and down his cheeks, wearily. "Whatever." Tyro left, his hooks skitting along the floor at his sides. The metal against the stone of the floor made my ears ring. Tyro wasn't even related to the Royal Family and he had more of a claim to the Palace than I did. I frowned after boy. "He's going to be the death of me," Sokka said and I got a feeling that it was no longer a figure of speech.

"Who's Kohl?" I asked, glad that my voice didn't sound all crumbly from my crying.

Sokka gave me a serious look before he started walking down the corridor. "Your cousin. Come let's see if you can't arrange for you to have your own sleeping quarters."

"I never knew Azula had a daughter," I said as caught up with him.

"Mhh. Sounds familiar doesn't it?" He sent me a smile as we began to climb down a flight of stairs that must lead to the Servants hall. "It's not something we advertise. Ever."

"But Azula's not married is she?"

"No, she's not." Speaking after that came to a halt. I grazed my fingers along the walls. Mom said she did it too as she would explore the vastness of the Palace. _Too bad you couldn't bring her with you_. The words burned at my being. IF she were here too, would she be touching the walls next to me? Should I have brought her with me? Dragged her? Burned her feet so she couldn't refuse?

I shook my head. You can't rush the earth. I shouldn't doubt my actions. I shouldn't feel disappointed, I got to meet my father and that was all I really wanted . . . right? I didn't really have to be accepted right off the bat did I?

_Yes, you did_. A chill ran down my spine. Mom's voice was stuck in my head, and I wasn't up to hearing it.

The stairs ended in an intersecting corridor. There were servants bustling about carrying bouquets of flowers and long, luxurious draperies and candles that seemed endless.

"Is it always so busy this early in the morning?" I asked trying to forget my mother's voice.

"nope," he said popping the "p". He made me smile—he seemed just like the Sokka in all the stories Mo—nope wasn't thinking about _her_. "But it's the Fire Lords birthday so it's bound to be busy down here weeks beforehand."

"Oh . . ." I grumbled.

"Didn't Toph ever—?"

"Yeah," I cut him off. "I just forgot what day it was what with all the . . ." My eyes began to water again. Why couldn't the mental version of _her_ voice just shut up? "What with all the crap."

He gave me a sympathetic look. "He'll come around. Zuko is pretty good with adapting to things. His whole life is about change."

"Mh," I grunted. But I knew he was right. My father's life was practically engraved upon the back of my hand. I knew whatever I needed to know about him. I knew about his childhood. I knew about his mother, my namesake. I knew about the Agni Kai that had marked him as a coward and how he had turned from sweet to bitter because of the angry flames that had licked his face. I knew of his struggle to choose what was right. I knew about _everything_ that made my father who he was. But he knew nothing about me. He didn't know I was firebender just like him. He didn't know that I loved politics. He didn't know I loved him. He didn't know I _existed_ until little over fifteen minutes ago.

No wonder he had walked away. I didn't want to cheer up though—despite the logic. Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of connection between a parent and child? Aren't they supposed to know right off the bat?

"So there's going to be a party tonight?" I asked, pushing away my thoughts.

Sokka nodded, a bright glint in his eye. "Uh-huh. Everyone's going to be there, except for my wife who's recovering from an illness and my eldest son who's taking care of her and our daughter."

"By everyone . . .?"

"I mean everyone. Katara—she's my sister," he said as if I was a stranger. Well I was, but he wasn't to me.

"I know. Mom told me storied about everyone."

"Oh." For a moment Sokka was quiet. I looked over at him, my nails scraping against the wall still. His eyebrows were scrunched. His hair was a mass of tiny braids that were pulled back into a short ponytail—a couple were falling into his face. I watched as a muscle in his jaw twitched. "What . . . what did she say about me?"

I couldn't help it—I laughed. "Honest?"

"Yeah," he said, his face relaxing a bit.

"She said you were an idiot sometimes and kind of hopeless and oblivious. She said that you were funny though and your battle smarts impressed her. She liked how you forgot she was blind a lot of the times too." I paused watching a grin spread over the mans face. He glanced up from his feet and smiled. "I think she missed you too. Even though she didn't say it."

"I miss her too," he said with a sigh. Suddenly he threw an arm around my shoulder and I felt compelled to quit touching the wall. "Anyway! Katara's gonna be there along with Aang and some other war buddies. I think Iroh is coming during the afternoon. Quite a few Fire Nation nobles as well. Ugh, nobles. They're too snooty for me, oh well," he finished.

"It doesn't sound like _that_ many people," I said conversationally.

"Yeah, well." It sounded like he wanted to say more but changed his mind right at the last second.

It was probably for the best because he would have interrupted anyway by a very busy looking lady with long braided hair that was done up in an intricate looking bun. I reasoned with myself that the do must be simpler than it looked. Nothing should be so complicated. By the way she dressed—long red robes with golden embroidery—I could tell she was of Fire Nation nobility. She had a few dozen servants trailing after here. A couple of them held long lists that were being pulled along the floor as they struggled to keep up with her.

"Sokka!" she squealed excitedly. She clapped her hands together just under her chin. She looked absolutely angelic. "You're here."

"Hey, Ty Lee, how've you been? When's you're next visit to Kyoshi? Suki misses you."

The woman began jumping up and—wait did he just say Ty Lee?

Lu Minh's mother.

So this is what the Fire Lords mistress looked like. There weren't really posters of her; I mean what government would want to advertise that their leader wasn't exactly . . . chaste? Many people wondered, though, why the Fire Lord didn't take her as his wife, especially if my Mom still held the title of Fire Lady. But nothing happened.

"Oh, I _do_ miss the girls," she gave a sad sigh. For a moment a dark shadow passed over her face and I got the feeling she wasn't any happier about being the Fire Lords mistress than I was. Almost reluctantly she pulled herself out of her thoughts as if she received strength from it. "I will have to speak with the Council to set my next visit."

Sokka nodded. "Hope it's soon. Yue has been dying to know more about those secret pressure points you know so well." He paused to let Ty Lee give a tinkle of a laugh. He glanced in my direction before saying "I would like to set up some sleeping arrangements for . . . this young lady. She is my guest.

I was terrified because instantly the woman set her warm eyes upon me. I watched as they widened, I watched as her smile faded and as her jaw dropped open. I watched as her eyes, a sweet dark eyes hardened into something sickly and bitter.

"Toph?" she took a couple steps back, almost causing a few of the servants behind her to topple over onto their backs. Ty Lee turned to them, her hands waving importantly. "Yes, Red on the left, white on the right, very good Anjay. Yes, Yes. Just do whatever looks nice. Go, go." She whirled back to me.

I shook my head. "I'm not Toph. I'm her daughter." What does it feel like to not be _any ones_ daughter? Probably a whole lot better than this.

She stared at me slack jawed for a while longer before putting the tips of her fingers to her lips. Her eyes were watering up and it almost looked like she was trying to hid e a smile behind her hand. "Does . . . Zuko know?" she asked looking at Sokka.

He nodded.

Ty Lee's expression became horrorstruck. "I need to find him. He's probably set half the palace on fire by now. Why didn't you find me sooner?" she asked rushing past in the direction Sokka and I had come.

"Ty Lee!" Sokka said, running to keep up. I followed him.

"do you think we stopped for a little tea? Of course we came to tell you as soon as possible."

"I thought we only came down here to get me a room," I said sarcastically.

Sokka turned on me with a Not-Helping look. "Whatever. Ty Lee go do whatever you have to, to keep Zuko sane. I think he's fine and just needs time alone, but again whatever. Can you at least establish for Ursa a room."

Ty Lee looked over her shoulder. "She can have any room in the east wing, third floor. Only Tyro and you have a room there."

"Thank you," Sokka said with a nod.

"She named you Ursa?" she asked a small smile on her face.

I nodded.

Okay, yeah, I was officially confused—thanks to that woman.

"I'm Ty Lee," she said. She seemed to be forcing herself to a slower pace.

I felt my expression become stony. "I know." How was I supposed to act around this woman?

"How old are you? Fifteen?" she asked.

I nodded. "I'll be sixteen in two months."

Ty Lee slowed down enough for me to walk alongside her. Sokka was a little ways ahead of us. He turned, a small grin gracing his lips. "Really now? And what are your views on the rising tensions in the Earth Kingdom?"

She was looking for something. But for what, I had no idea.

"Uh," I stalled, thinking back to all the scroll articles I had read in the last couple of months. "At this rate, and if they keep denying the Avatar from entering major Earth Kingdom cities, I think there will be a civil war in their hands. Which means in the worlds hands at this point because the Avatar would be compelled to intervene and my father would stand behind the Avatar."

The Fire Lord smiled before nodding. I felt like I answered correctly. "Sokka?"

"Yes?" The Water Tribe ambassador turned.

"You can escort Ursa to the east wing, right? I really must speak to the Fire Lord Now. You're welcome to accompany me once Ursa is settled."

"This way," he said offering me his elbow.


	6. Minny Us

A/N: soooo I decided to get this chapter written and posted early because I was in a really good writing mood today. I hope you like it.

Even though I was Sokka's guest I decided not to go to the party. Would you? I know they didn't want me to feel _un_welcome and they tried . . . but still. It was like they were waiting for something. For the Fire Lord to give me the boot and say "sorry but I've got a son. I don't need you". It was very possible and _completely_ understandable.

Right?

Anyway, I stayed in my room for the rest of the day. It was weird. Definitely beautiful, but weird. It was twice the size of my home in the Fire Nation. There was even a spiral staircase that led up to a loft. I was somewhat afraid to go up there. I was afraid to touch too much of anything, really. It felt like if I moved anything the whole world would be thrown out of balance even more.

Was it a mistake coming here?

I wanted to see my mom. I thought about writing her a letter but she wouldn't be able to read it. I could send a message to our neighbor. She knew everything about us but she kept it a secret and that was why she and Mom were friends. She helped my mom give birth to me, but that was all I really knew about her. She never spoke and I guess that was what made her so good at keeping our secret.

There was a knock at my door, and then the sound of a scuffle and laughter. I tried to fix my birds' nest of a hair before reaching the door. I'm notorious for running my fingers through it. I turned the knob and looked outside.

There was a heap of strangling limbs rolling on the floor. Maniacal giggling was coming from a small girl who looked to be no more than seven years old. She was wrestling a boy twice her age and three times her size. The boy was grinning and I was startled to discover that it was Tyro. He looked different when he was happy. I stared at the two waiting for them to finish. I could actually feel a smile begin to tug at my lips.

Suddenly the girl wriggled her way out of his grip and stood in front of me with perfect posture. Her arms were pulled behind her back and her feet forced together. Minus her mussed up hair and wrinkled clothes she looked very regal. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Tyro push himself to his feet. His hooks were gone as well as the traditional armor he had worn earlier. He was transformed.

"Hi," the girl spoke. "I'm Kohl."

She was my cousin. My little cousin.

I never really thought about how many people I would be meeting coming here. I had only been thinking about my father but it turns out I've been meeting the whole family.

"Tyro said that you were here. Said you wanted see your dad."

"Did he?" I asked conversationally. I didn't really feel good about what he might have said about me.

"I think it's sweet. Especially since you've never met him. I haven't met my dad either. If only he stayed, my mom might be happier. Same for you. If your mother had really loved the Fire Nation and the Fire Lord she would have stayed. And then you could have been happy."

How does a person react to _that_? I felt like I had just been slapped.

"Yeah, sweet." I heard Tyro let out a chuckle. Jaw clenched, I turned on him. "Is the party over or something?"

"It is for Kohl. The Fire Lord decided he had enough partying so they're discussing politics now."

"Are you going back then?"

"Yes. Does the little princess need an escort?" He mocked.

I glared at him. "No, _thank_ you." I walked past him and Kohl to explore the palace. I briefly hoped that I was going the way they had come but I needn't worry as I listened to their fading footsteps and voices.

I was suddenly reminded of Longshot's last words to me. Kohl and Tyro were definitely not the most beautiful people inside the palace.

O.0.O.0.O

Eventually I found a courtyard. I breathed out a sigh of relief. Before I had actually found it I didn't know that it was what I was looking for. I climbed over the fence that separated the grass from the concrete not finding enough patience to find the official entrance. The moon was beginning to rise just behind the volcano.

Upon further exploration I discovered that there didn't seem to be any sort of entry anyway. This courtyard had been blocked off. I knew that that should have been reason enough to leave. No one _really_ seemed to want me here besides Sokka and maybe even Ty Lee and if I was caught somewhere I shouldn't be then they would for sure send me away. But there was a large space covered in stone just next to a little pond. It was a practice arena and it was calling to me. The temptation to practice my firebending was too great to leave the courtyard. I quickly shrugged off my outer layers and my shoes until I was wearing only a thin gold dress made of cotton. I stepped on the cool stone and lit the few torches that surrounded the arena with shoots of fire from my finger tips. The light eliminated the cracks in the stone.

"Maybe Mom did that," I said to myself, gliding my toes along the rips in the earth. I walked along the arena, summoning the energy to begin bending. I was about to move into my stance when something carved into the ground caught my attention. I squinted my eyes to see it better. The carvings were about five feet in front of me. With a glance around I went over and crouched to my knees to read it.

_Minny Us_.

I leaned my head to the side, murmuring the words.

My father had said that earlier. He had _called_ me that. He had always called me that, along with my mother—before she left obviously, but she did, he did. When they were still together. When we were all sort of together. I was sure of it. It's hard to imagine a time when were all together especially since it was only about four months and I wasn't really conscious.

The very high possibility dawned on me that there mightn't have been a day that he had gone without thinking about my mother, and maybe me. Because he had Mom, she was his wife. And as short as the time way, he had me. Maybe he always wanted me after all. Maybe, even though I wasn't my mother he would . . . love me.

I smiled. My fingers dug into the letters that marked me as theirs.

"Hey!" said a voice. "You're not supposed to be in there."

I jumped to my feet looking around before spotting a figure on the other side of the metal fencing. Dread began to curdle within my stomach. It was happening. I was meeting the crowned prince.

Lu Minh.

All I could do was stare; my mouth agape like a stupid coy.

"When I say 'you're not supposed to be in there' I mean get out now," he said exasperatedly.

"Oh," I said shaking my head. "Right, give me a second." I quickly grabbed up my bundle of clothes and slipped on my shoes before climbing over the fence near him. "Look, I'm really sorry. I know I shouldn't have been in there but—"

"I don't really care," the prince said shrugging. "You're just lucky I found you before the people who _do_ care could."

"Oh," I said. "Thank you."

"Who are you anyway? I don't think I've seen you around."

"I'm . . . just nobody," I replied. I needed a break from being Ursa.

"Okay, I'm nobody too," he said despite the hairpiece that told everyone of who he was. The boy smiled at me and I couldn't help but return it. My half-brother seemed a whole lot better than my cousin. "Well goodbye nobody. Try not to get caught by again, especially by my father."

"Who's your father?" I asked playing along.

"A nobody, like you and me."

Well that was refreshing, I thought as he began to walk away. I gave the courtyard one last longing look before once again embarking on the adventure that was exploring the Fire Nation palace corridors.

No firebending for tonight then.

O.0.O.0.O

I didn't really know where I was anymore. The halls all looked the same, with the same damn red carpet, and the same damn gold walls and the same damn torches and the same damn pictures of all the same damn Fire Lords. They all looked the same with the same gold eyes and wrinkly skin and white hair.

Sokka really should have given me a map before leaving me to my own devices.

I was doing that thing again with my fingers on the wall. The thing that Mom told me about. I was really tired. I hadn't gotten a good nights' sleep since I was with Mom, if only I could find my room.

As I turned a corner I began to hear raised voices. I leaned my head into the sounds, trying to find its source. I walked up to a door when I recognized Ty Lee's voice. "So what about Ursa?"

"I will propose something," I pushed myself against the key hole hungrily. It was my father. They were talking about me. "Something symbolic, those old farts love symbolism, don't they? She would have to accomplish something and then she can become the crowned princess."

"Eavesdropping isn't polite, little princess," rumbled a voice just over my shoulder.

I whirled, yelling out. Without thinking I shot fire at the offender, who wouldn't you know it happened to be Tyro. Luckily the flame barely grazed his hair.

"Gah!" he yelped, swatting at his sizzling hair. I watched apprehensively as his eyes did that scary changing thing, from light to dark. It wasn't human.

"Who do you think you are, throwing fire at people like that? I could pummel you, you know that? I don't care if you're the princess. To me you're just a spoiled little brat, who had nothing better to do than reveal herself to the world."

"Well, if you hadn't have snuck up on me then your hair wouldn't be burnt off. And if you really didn't care that I'm the princess then you wouldn't just stand there like an idiot. You think you're all tough, with your stupid hook and your stupid muscles but guess what! I think your mean. You're a bad person. And if I was Sokka I would be ashamed to have you as a son."

Tyro rolled his eyes, before stepping closer to me with a cocky smirk plastered to his face. "I never said I was a nice person."

I slapped him. I couldn't help it. I was cranky and he was just too annoying for me to handle. I watched as his cheek began to glow violet. If it was possible his eyes shone darker and darker. For a minute I thought he might strangle me, when the door I had been listening through opened.

Tyro and I both looked at my father, his eyes questioning. I could see Ty Lee, begin to stand over his shoulder.

_Too bad you couldn't bring her with you._

I gave the Fire Lord a cold glare before escaping the scene all together. I really needed to find my room.

"Where are you going?"

A glance behind showed that Tyro had followed me. He no longer looked murderous, he looked calm—almost amused. Annoying fart. "My room," I tried to say as confidently as I could.

"Well, you're going the wrong way for that."

I grunted.

"Come on," he said grabbing hold of my elbow, a little to roughly I might add, and began to lead me in the direction of the east wing.

A/N:

Please review!

Next chapter: Zuko's point of view (I promise I won't change the points of view too much on you during this story). His _whole_ conversation with Ty Lee that night. And then some. It will be short, sorry.


	7. The Fire Lady's Entrance

Zuko's point of view.

Ty Lee was already in our room when I walked in. She was sitting at the vanity that stood to the right of the bathroom door. She glanced at me in the mirror, a cloth held to her eyes as she wiped away the makeup.

"Zuko—"

"_Don't_," I growled. "Don't speak. Don't, d-don't _think_," I forced. "This isn't about you."

Ty Lee stood. "What do you _mean_ this isn't about me?"

I rolled my eyes at her. I rubbed at the back of my neck. It felt like I was on fire, and no, that wasn't a pun. I don't do puns. "It's not about you. I mean what I say, Ty Lee!"

"You're full of shit!" Ty Lee yelled. "This is about me too. I've been a part of this since _you_ decided to make _me _your 'mistress'." She wasted no time getting those air quotes in her little speech.

"Don't you dare," I said pointing at her. "Pull that on me. It's not fair and you know it. You know what they would've done if I didn't find someone. My wife _ran away_ from me. She took our child. She took Ursa."

Ty Lee must have seen something in my face because she was no longer glaring at me. Her bottom jaw was sticking out and I knew she was fighting the urge to cry. I started to fight the same battle. She walked over to me and gave me a hug. We didn't normally touch each other when we weren't in public but it felt nice. I pulled her closer and let myself cry when she began to shake against me.

"You're a good person, Ty Lee," I said, patting her on the back gently. "I'm sorry."

"Don't push me away. I'm here for you. I know what you're feeling. Jai knows what you're feeling. We can help you."

I stoked my hand down her hair. It was soft like _hers_ but it was not dark. Not nearly dark enough and it was almost too soft. Ty Lee was also too tall. She was shorter than Mai, but still.

When I thought of Jai, I frowned. I had caused him so much pain, and Ty Lee. Suddenly I felt a horrible envious rage toward Lu Minh and his blissful ignorance.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Ty Lee extracted herself from me and returned to her stool. "So what are you going to do? About Ursa, I mean?" I glared at her as I sat down next to her on the floor. "Zuko . . ." she reproached. "You have to do something about this."

I frowned glumly. "I know, I do. But _what_ do I do? I feel like I'm in a ditch. A ditch I blame on Toph. She was always making ditches. Stupid ditches. What use could they possib—"

"Come back to me, Zuko," she said patiently. I blinked. Ty Lee sent me a smile. "You're the Fire Lord. What is stopping you?"

"There are regulations," I replied, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I can't just say 'hey! My long lost daughter returned! Kick Lu Minh out of the picture and make her next in line. Oh and speaking of Lu Minh? Yea he's not mine anyway'." I stopped at Ty Lee's hurt face. "I'm sorry. He's a great kid, and I love him but they'll throw a fit. You could be branded as a traitor to the crown. You could be executed. And Jai, especially Jai."

"What are you trying to say?" She asked pushing a comb through her hair. I watched her—her hair was long and it was hard not to.

"You're going to hate me for this . . . but I think we should go on pretending I am the father. Ty Lee, I know," I said, apologetically as her eyes began to water. "You want to be free of me, and of this place, and I promise, eventually you will be."

Ty Lee nodded, wiping at her eyes and inhaling deeply, pulling herself together. "So what about Ursa?"

"I will propose something. Something symbolic, those old farts love symbolism, don't they? She would have to accomplish something and then she can become the crowned princess."

"Ahh!"

Ty Lee looked at the door, a confused wrinkle between her eyebrows. I frowned, pushing myself up from the ground to open the door. Voices were slithering through the crack of the door. I reached the knob and yanked it open.

I raised my eyebrows at Tyro and Ursa (my daughter if you haven't worked that out yet. Yeah I'm still shocked too) who seemed to be in the middle of an argument. Ursa's mouth was open in mid yell. She gave me a guilty look before rearranging her face into a cold frown. I opened my mouth to speak when she turned and marched off. Tyro snorted with that stupid sneer of his on his face. I briefly wondered why he had an angry red mark blooming on his cheek and why some of his hair was smoking and charred before growling at him and slamming the door shut. "That kid bothers me," I said to Ty Lee before flopping onto the bed.

"He's not of a sound mind, Zuko. Don't judge him."

"I'm _not_ judging. Just bothered. It's creepy, to think it's not really Tyro in that head. Not anymore."

Ty Lee scrunched up her face. "I think it's sad. He had been a really sweet little boy before the Dai Li took him."

O.0.O.0.O  
_flashback  
_O.0.O.0.O

Zuko remembered the first night she cried. At first it was only subtle sniffling and when it became more frequent Zuko placed a hand on her hair. It was down, just how he liked it. "Toph are you okay?" he asked when the sniffles turned into choking sounds. "Toph?" He pulled her towards him.

"I don't like makeup," she sobbed into his chest. Zuko could help but smile. The girl who had the least concern in makeup was crying over it.

"I know," he said rubbing her back.

"Why do I have to wear the stuff?" she mumbled. "A blind girl wearing makeup. It just sounds stupid."

"tradition, Toph," Zuko said glad that her sobs had returned to sniffling. Sniffling, that Zuko found rather cute. "Trust me, Toph they aren't caking it on there if that's what you're worried about."

"But, I don't feel like me."

Zuko moved so that Toph could no longer hide her face in his chest. He moved so close to her that when he spoke his lips grazed against the corner of hers. "You of all people should know that I don't care about outward appearances, nor will the future Fire Nation." Then he kissed her, his hand moving to the small of her back, pulling her against him. "If you want," he murmured. "I can tell them no makeup for you."

Toph smiled at him, grazing her fingers up and down his bare back. "As long as you only see me, I'll be fine."

"Really?" Zuko asked. He saw doubt begin to cloud his wife's face and for a moment he was frightened, but she nodded curtly thus closing the conversation. She gave him a smile before turning over on her other side, her back to him. "Goodnight, Zuko."

"I love you," he said almost desperately.

He was met by silence.

O.0.O.0.O  
Present Day—Toph  
O.0.O.0.O

She remembered the last time she had been here, at Dock Seven. It was the last time she vowed to move into the Fire Nation. After that one journey she stayed, with her people. And she had, only not in the way she had hoped. They didn't know she was still with them. For all they knew she was off on some remote island, cracking coconuts and eating bananas.

Everything had gone well throughout her journey. No one had openly recognized her and she had not drawn attention to herself. Yet.

She couldn't see it—of course she couldn't. She was blind! She had never seen it, but she had lived in it, she had fought inside it, around it, even under it. She knew what it felt like under her wiggling toes. She knew what it sounded like—the hustle and bustle of all the Fire Nation citizens, the busy ones with things to do.

It was her palace.

A mischievous grin curled at her lips. It was time to make a scene. Everyone within a ten mile radius would know that she had returned.

What was Fire Lady Toph without an entrance?

She hunched over in a compact ball, her palm facing the ground with outstretched fingers. Toph commanded the earth beneath her to rise high above everyone so that she could be seen. She stood on her podium ready to make her speech.

She was coming home.

The people of the Fire Nation gaped at the woman towering over them. Those old enough and smart enough recognized her immediately and fell to their knees, bowing before their Lady. But those who were too young and too forgetful were at a loss as to why everyone was showing her so much respect. Their friends tried tugging them down, whispering furiously that she had come back.

One man spoke, his voice rising above the clamorous confusion. "Who are you?"

Toph smiled. "The Fire Lady." She had to yell it but after she did the silence that spread among Dock Seven was deafening. The few Fire Nation soldiers in the dock saluted her and those who hadn't been bowing before got to their knees. Except for the man who had called out.

"I've got some questions," he implored, finding some box to stand on to get a better view of Toph.

"Of course you do," she said patiently. She had expected denial, hatred even—not respect. Questions were small compared to hatred. She hated herself for leaving.

"Why are you back? You've been gone since I was a child, and now I'm grown. Why come back now?" He was asking question for everyone else. Questions that everyone else was afraid to ask. Toph liked this man.

"How old are you?" she asked. "You sound young, and strong."

"I'm twenty-eight," he replied.

"Only twenty-eight? I'm thirty-three. We have barely even started our growing my friend—to some we are merely babies. Now, how old were you when I became Fire Lady."

"I would have been eleven."

Toph nodded. "When I married Fire Lord Zuko I was only sixteen. I was still a child. I didn't like to be polite. I didn't like the parties and the niceties. I didn't like the shoes," Toph wiggled her bare toes unconsciously. "I didn't like the makeup. I didn't like the hairpieces. I didn't like the work.

"I was only a child. What child likes work?"

"But what does that have to do with _now_?" the man asked an edge in his voice. "If you didn't like the responsibility of being our Fire Lady why are you even here?"

"I loved the responsibility!" she yelled suddenly frustrated. "I loved the Fire Nation and its people. I loved being your Fire Lady—I still do. Just not all the extra stuff."

The crowd was still and quiet, even the man couldn't really think of anything to say. This was after all the woman the Fire Nation had fallen in love with practically overnight. The Fire Nation was _not_ filled with angry people, nor with foolish people. Everyone in the country was merely that which set them apart—fire.

Life. Passion. Freedom. Rebirth.

"It wasn't my love for Zuko that brought me here when I was little. During the war, I had come here with the Avatar and our friends. I was a poor little blind girl, an earthbender under Fire Nation clothes, a scammer, and a criminal. I was thrown in jail here, and yet I felt freer than I ever had living in the Earth Kingdom.

"I had been in the Fire Nation for a short time, maybe a month. But I got enough of a taste of it. I had fallen in love with this place." Toph bent to break a chunk of earth from her makeshift pedestal. "This land," she murmured so softly that those near her had to pass it on to their neighbors, and on, and on, and on. "Pulled me in, like the tide to shore. And so I kept coming back for more and more." She forgot that they were all there now. She was speaking to herself. There were many pauses but the crowd listened on as if they were entranced.

The man from earlier was on his knees now and his eyes were shiny.

"The years passed and Zuko and I . . . we were children, and we were stupid. We didn't fall in love with each other as much as everyone else believes. He fell in love with the _idea_ of me as Fire Lady. And I . . . I fell in love with the idea of being a permanent resident. Eventually we did begin to love each other and not just the idea of each other. But by that time I . . . had decided to leave. I needed to grow up a little. I was sixteen and pregnant with the Fire Lords child and I felt like the entire Fire Nation was resting on my shoulders. I was weak . . . and I couldn't live in the palace anymore." She rubbed at her eyes and the hearts of the people, who remembered her when she was a small seemingly innocent girl, were touched.

"But I'm still your Fire Lady if you want me to be. I lived among you for the past fifteen years, raising my daughter—the princess—to love the Fire Nation as I do. If you want me," she was close begging now. "I promise I'll be back for good."

The crowd was quiet for such a long time that Toph thought that letting the earth swallow her whole wasn't such a bad idea. The people were her deciding factor. It didn't matter what she wanted if they decided they didn't want her. _But how could they not_, she thought desperately. She loved them so much, why would they turn her away.

She couldn't see them, she couldn't see their wet faces, and she couldn't see their smiles.

But she heard their applause. She heard their laughter, their hoots and their hollers. She could feel their hearts race and swell. She could feel the heat of the fire of her nation rise into the air. And she knew they loved her as she did them.

And then there was pain shooting through her shoulder, and then there were the screams of her loved ones, and then she collapsed into the crowd, her blood flowing freely an arrow jammed into her pale skin.

Her fall wasn't long or hard as the people directly below caught their Fire Lady. The man she had spoken with during her speech pushed through the horrorstruck crowd and kneeled beside her. "Fire Lady Toph?" he said, his voice shaking as prepared himself to pick her up.

"It's okay," she said, her breathing labored. "Just get rid of the arrow. Push it through." Toph broke off the end of the weapon.

"Lady Toph?" he asked unsure.

"Do it!"

For a moment the man thought that she was looking straight into his eyes before they were squeezed shut in pain. "There's a note attached to it," he said, stalling. Her blood was staining it a dark crimson—he quickly untied it from the arrow.

"Give . . . it to . . . me," she said through gasps.

After he had handed it over the man wrapped his fingers around the broken shaft of the arrow. "I better be getting paid for this," he said without thinking. For a moment he worried, that he had stepped out of line but then Toph let out a snort of laughter when he pushed on the arrow. She let out a scream of agony.

Yeah that was when the man _really_ feared for his life.


	8. Coming To Terms

A/N: Since break is coming up in a couple of days I'll be able to write more in one sitting. Sorry it's been awhile. I hope this makes sense and I hope you like it.

Also this chapter was inspired by the last track on the _Inception_ soundtrack: Time, by Hans Zimmer, just in case you wanted to feel the mood I felt while writing this. :)

_Zuko paced in the dining hall. It was a beautiful room, one of his favorites. It was so very different from everything else in the Fire Nation palace. Instead of the red carpeted walls and beams painted of gold it was made of stone. Beautiful white marble. The long table was painted gold and everything seemed to reflect off of everything. But right now he only appreciated that he could walk for quite a while before having to turn back around and start again. _

_Something had happened._

_They had been eating breakfast like they always did. Him at the head of the table and her on his right. Zuko had been speaking with Yun Zi about the day's events when there was a loud clatter and a frightened squeak. Zuko looked over at Toph, his brows scrunched together questioningly even though she couldn't see it. She had dropped her fork, where it landed first in her plate then on the table. There were now bits of egg and potatoes scattered everywhere. _

"_Toph?" he asked. "What's wrong?" He could feel tension gurgle in his throat like tar. _

_Toph moved her hands from the top of the table, her little fingers shaking as she brought them to her stomach. Her face had paled and her eyes were wide and . . . watery? When Zuko began to reach for his fiancé she stood up abruptly. She seemed to be holding in her breath, one hand still clutching at her stomach while the other gripped the edge of the golden table. _

"_Are you okay?" Zuko asked, worried. _

_Toph swallowed. "I-I don't know, Sparky. Yun Zi could you get the doctor?" She began to walk away, her steps unsure—so unlike her._

"_Where are you going,Toph?" Zuko asked making to get up and follow her. _

_Toph stopped, turned around and walked back towards Zuko. She gave him a smile, one that Zuko didn't believe, and kissed him. "Don't worry. Stay here, I'll be right back."_

_That had been fifteen minutes ago and Zuko was too worried to wait any longer. He had been pacing for five minutes when he decided to search for her. There was something _really_ wrong with her. She had looked too scared to pass it off as a "don't worry". He stopped at Toph's chair, his hand resting on the tall back of it. The cushions matched the walls—white—with golden embroidery. _

_His eyes widened, there on the once perfect cushion was a nasty, dark red blemish that glared angrily at him. It was blood—toph's blood. But . . . was that a normal reaction? She had looked like she witnessed someone die, not like her period had snuck up on her. _

_Like someone died. _

"_No," he whispered. The hand that was clutching Toph's chair pitched it to the ground with a thud as he let a growl escape from behind his bared teeth. "She would've told me."_

_He ran out of the dining hall he could feel tears in his eyes. It felt like time had suddenly slowed down while he sped by everyone else that lived in the palace. His was angry and frightened all at the same time. Why hadn't she told him? Wasn't he entitled to know—know that his future wife was pregnant? The frightening thing was that maybe it wasn't even his. Or maybe it was dead. _

_It. _

_Would it have been a boy? A girl? _

_He might never know. _

_Suddenly he found her. Or heard her. There was a loud hiccupping coming from behind a rather large plant. Zuko almost didn't notice, but she did._

"_Z-Zuko!" she choked out. _

_He whirled around and looked at her. What he saw practically broke his heart. He had never witnessed so many tears on her face; never witnessed so much hurt in her eyes. She was trembling, her arms clutching around her middle. Zuko sucked in a breath moving forward to join her on the ground. _

_He placed a hand on her cheek, "Oh, Toph," he said sadly. She sobbed even more. _

_She took his hand, giving him a sick sort of maniacal smile, and placed it on her stomach. "Yours." Zuko felt a tear drop on the hand that she was still holding. "I'm convinced he was a boy." There was a moment of calm and Zuko leaned in, his nose touching her temple. "Not anymore," she snarled pitifully, throwing his hand away from her stomach. _

_Zuko pulled away, a little disgusted by her behavior. She was being blunt, _again_. He rubbed his wrist against his nose because it was beginning to run. He brought his legs up to his chest and rested his arms against his knees. "How long have you been pregnant? _

"_About three months." Her voice was low and crackly."Remember the day I came here for good? Or the night rather?"_

_He couldn't really forget. "How long have you been trying to tell me?" _

_She didn't answer him for a long time. "I was afraid to tell you. I was going to wait . . ."_

"_Wait until what?" his voice came out louder than he thought. Toph flinched. "_What_ in the name of _Agni_ could possibly keep you from telling me that you were carrying _my_ child?"_

"_Please," she said, quietly, looking at the floor, her eyes, though unseeing were dancing between him and his shoe. "You need to understand that I was _scared_, Zuko. Really, _really_, scared. I'm fifteen, engaged to the Fire Lord with the whole Nation watching my every move. I wanted to wait until after we got married to tell you because . . . I . . . I was afraid that . . ." She seemed to be staring right into Zuko, her eyes begging him to read her mind. _

"_What? You were afraid that I wouldn't love it if it wasn't legal?"_

_Toph turned her head away from him, biting her lip. Once again she wrapped her arms around her stomach, bowing her head on her knees. "Something like that. But it doesn't matter now does it? I ran away from my parents, and now my own child has run away from me before he could give me the chance. Karma, I guess. Considering the . . . circumstances, I don't regret not telling you. You don't have to suffer now like I do."_

"_You're some shit, you know that?" Zuko said grabbing her shoulders, and shaking her. He couldn't stop himself, he was too angry. _

"_Yes," Toph said clearly, her face withdrawn. "I know I'm shit. I killed your son."_

_He gaped at her. "Stop it," he begged. "I didn't mean it, you know me. I say stupid shit all the time, I didn't mean it. I love you, Toph." It was something the both of them had owned up to, on the outside at least. On the inside they had never been sure. "I'm suffering too, you know? Just because you didn't tell me doesn't mean the baby never existed. And now that he's gone, I am suffering. You can't stop it, but don't forget this . . . hey, look at me." _

"_I can't," she said stubbornly._

"_Try." He was crying openly now. "I will _always_ love what_ever_ you give me. Unborn, or born. Dead or alive." He looked into her eyes, his fingers still clutching at her shoulders. It wasn't beautiful, it was actually a very horrible thing to say, but it was what she needed. _

_Suddenly she pushed him away. For a moment he was hurt before he realized that she was throwing up into the plant she was hiding behind. He reached for her, pulling her bangs out of her face as she gagged. _

_Until then Zuko didn't know if he loved her or not. Sure, he loved her as the future Fire Lady. She would be perfect for it, the people already loved her. Even that night—the night that had brought them here on the floor crying—he wasn't sure if he loved her. But at that moment, he knew he did. She may not have told him, but she had carried his child for three months. She was going to be a mother, the Fire Nation would have a prince again. _

_It was ridiculous that it took _that_ to convince him of his love for her. But convinced him it did. _

_He kissed her hair gently. "Let's get you a bath." _

O.0.O.0.O

Zuko woke up on the floor. He slept on the rather comfortable couch that night while he let Ty Lee sleep on the bed. It was their usual arrangement when she was expected to stay at the palace. But at some point he managed to roll off the couch. He briefly wondered why he hadn't noticed but the answer was Toph. It was always Toph. He had been dreaming about her.

He got to his feet, and stretched. The bed was empty—Ty Lee had probably gone to spend time with her son. He was a little afraid of Lu Minh. He was a really smart kid, a really level-headed kid. He was like Jai, his real father. Ty Lee's love of her life. Lu Minh was also too nice, and Zuko had, with time come to love him as his own, but he knew that the time to tell him the truth was quickly approaching. It would shatter him, Zuko knew, and he would hate himself for doing that to the Fire Nation prince.

_I will be his Ozai_, he thought bitterly.

Zuko walked through the doorway that led to the balcony, his brows furrowed in frustration. Then he heard crackling. The constant sound of the Fire Nation. A sizzle and pop that dwelled in the veins of firebenders. Zuko looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. He felt smoke stream from his nostrils.

Someone was in _her_ courtyard.

Her courtyard was on _fire_.

He was so furious he probably could've killed, but then whoever it was in the forbidden courtyard turned around and he saw her face.

It was Toph.

"Toph," he breathed, a smile growing on his lips—a smile that hasn't surfaced in over nearly sixteen years. "Toph!" he yelled, leaning over the banister to get closer. Every inch mattered. "TOPH!" He was grinning wildly now, hoping she would hear him. And she did, and she looked right at him.

She was different though. She looked like Toph, but then she didn't. She had golden eyes. She was Ursa—not Toph.

Zuko took a step back. He felt like he had lost Toph all over again just because his daughter showed up. Wasn't he supposed to be happy?

Ursa waved hopefully. She didn't look all that happy to Zuko, either. Probably the happiest he ever saw her was when he first met her in the palace foyer. It was his fault, he realized. He didn't really say anything to her. Zuko raised his hand too, but he didn't move it. He was kind of stunned.

_She probably thinks I hate her_, he said to himself.

His daughter turned away from him to shoot fire from her fist. Zuko's eyes widened. It had never occurred to him that she was a firebender. She looked so much like _her_, that he just figured she was an earthbender. And then he was smiling again, and he had tears in his eyes.

He had a daughter.

.

. .

. . .

. . .

. .

.

A/N: It's mostly a filler, but I think it was a somewhat important filler. I think you guys needed to know more about what Zuko was feeling.

The flashback in the beginning was actually going to be a oneshot but then I thought it fit. So yeah, they did the deed before they got married and before they were sure if they loved each other. Scandalous, no?

Now I'm worried, do you guys feel like you understand how Zuko feels a little more? Should I give you more?

Next chapter I'm pretty sure will have some Zuko/Ursa interaction. Long awaited huh?


	9. Unreliable Boys and Some Messy Timing

A/N: I meant to get this up yesterday, alas, it was not so. It wasn't quite long enough. But here you go! Longest chapter yet! I hope you will like it. I tried really hard… kinda… lol

Seriously though I tried hard.

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. .

. . .

. . .

. .

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I groaned, bringing my hand up to pinch the bridge of my nose. The sun was about to rise and the firebender inside me wanted to wake up with the bright, flaming ball that was my source. Years of living under Mom's rigorous training were the only reason I managed to pull myself out bed. I was surprised she wasn't already yelling at me to get up.

I rubbed at my eyes and looked around. No scroll of the Fire Lord on the wall, no cracks in the clay. And definitely not my mother.

Somehow, just a few hours of sleep had wiped away my memory. Another few hours and I _may_ be able to scrounge up some happiness for myself.

I sighed.

I had been surprised when Tyro escorted me to my room. Huh. Funny—did I say "escort"?

I meant _herd._

Like I was livestock.

The whole time I just didn't want to have to talk to him so I would pick up the pace just enough to bring me in front of him which to my great happiness put him out of my line of vision. But then he would clutch at my elbow and yank me the other direction. "This way," he would say. But then he'd say something stupid and annoying and bratty again so I would slow down until I was far enough behind him to keep my sanity. Hopefully, that way I wouldn't take a wrong turn, just, you know follow him?

"_Spirits!"_ he yelled once. "Don't walk so slow, I'm trying to get to my room, thank you."

So yeah,_ not_ the gentlemanly escort you would expect from a son of an honorable war hero. But other than that . . . the experience wasn't _entirely_ unpleasant. He was too sure of himself and that made me feel nervous but I get the feeling Mom would've like him. He spoke his mind and was brutally honest, just like her.

But he wasn't reliable.

When he had moved to attack me at Dock Seven we were on opposing teams. He looked like he could've killed me without a blink of his stupid flashing eyes at my mangled corpse. Then he turned around completely helped me to prove that I was the Fire Lords daughter.

With Khol, he was an unashamed bully and again outside my father's bedroom door. And then he somehow managed to find the decency to stop me from getting lost in a home that should have been mine?

I was having a hard time believing he was truly Sokka of the Water Tribe's son.

I shook my head trying to clear it of the groggy headache that I always got if I didn't exercise right away. To my surprise, there was a pile of fresh clothes sitting on the stool at foot of my bed. I quickly changed before slipping out into the large halls.

The sky was a deep hazy purple. I always loved how the sun could turn the sky into a canvas in a matter of seconds. It was something I always wished Mom could see—could appreciate about the sun.

I found myself once again climbing over the fence that blocked the courtyard that Lu Minh had said was off-limits. I didn't really care so much. I felt drawn to the place . . . like it was mine. My feet glided almost every square inch before I found a spot where I could watch the sunrise. The walls of the palace blocked most of my view so in order to see I willed fire to jet from the bottom of my feet to bring me to the top of a pillar. I could even see the ocean.

I folded my legs, letting my eyes droop closed. When I began to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin I began the breathing exercises Mom had taught me.

I knew it was hard for her—those early lessons. Not because she wasn't a firebender herself but I knew there were memories that she'd rather not think about. Memories of my father. She would have to think back to when she was a kid traveling with the Avatar and when he began learning firebending. She had to think of the way my father did his breathing exercises, how he held himself.

On the same visit that he gave me the scroll of my father; the Avatar gave me a lesson on firebending. I remember my mother sitting on her favorite metal chair, her cheeks wet. I think that was the first time I'd ever seen Mom cry. I had asked her what was wrong but she didn't say anything to me. She just got up and left the house for a long time. The Avatar had looked at me sadly, before adjusting my legs in a more stable position.

That was when I realized there was probably just a little bit more to my mother than bed time stories.

When the sun was high enough in the sky, I slid down the pillar. I produced a little ball of fire and watched it dance all around me. Fire was so pretty to me. It always seemed more personal than any other element. But maybe that's how all benders felt about their element.

Fire just seemed like it had a mind of its own. It had its own agenda and I loved it. Fire did what it wanted. It was also warm and bright, something you couldn't get bored of. It kept changing, morphing into a different shape; a different tempo; a different temperature; a different dance.

A little more than an hour had passed when I began to hear a voice. I looked around trying to find it. It sounded like it was coming from above me. When I heard it again my head snapped up. I blanched. On a balcony stood my father. For a moment he looked so happy that I wanted to laugh but everything quickly changed to sorrow.

No need to seem so excited there, Dad.

My jaw clenched as I gave him a little wave. Why was he making everything so difficult? I turned around, feeling my throat tighten up, to blast fire from my fist. I kept doing that until I ran out of energy. It wasn't until I stopped that I realized I was crying. I found one of the many patches of grass that peaked up in the cracks of the stone courtyard and I sat down in front of it. I watched as the grass shriveled and smoked under my glare.

"You look like an earthbender," a voice penetrated my concentration. My hands flew up to my eyes to wipe away the damning evidence of my tears.

I craned my neck to see the Fire Lord. Seeing him without his traditional robes calmed me a little. He looked like I imagined him when Mom had described her travels with him and the rest of Team Avatar. I wondered briefly how long he had been standing there.

"When you firebend."

"Uh . . .?" What did he mean by that?

"I mean your stance. It's more like an earthbender's, than a firebender's." He climbed over the fence. A fence he had probably ordered to be put up. I watched as he glanced around the courtyard warily, like he was waiting for a ghost to pop out from behind one of the many pillars.

"Oh," I said. "Well all I had was Mom for a teacher. Her and the Avatar for maybe two hours."

"Aang taught you?"

"Yeah," I said distractedly. I was kind of paying more attention to is scar and how it didn't look hardly as bad as all the scrolls of him made it seem. "When I was five." He looked really angry all of a sudden and when he sat down across from me on the other side of the blackened grass I spoke again. "Don't be mad at him. I remember him trying to convince Mom to come out of hiding but she told him to keep us secret."

My father nodded. He was looking at me and it was making me a little nervous. "How . . . how is she?" he asked.

"She's okay." I thought back to when she came into my room the day I left. Why didn't she come with me? She had nothing left in that house. No one, except for maybe our mute neighbor who undoubtedly is still there . . . but that wasn't really the point. She wasn't really fun enough for Mom. "But I don't really know. I kinda just left her there."

He nodded, bowing his head.

I watched him for a little bit but he didn't say anything else after that. I scooted over to him so I was sitting next to him. I bumped his shoulder with mine a little, "I'm okay too, Dad." He tilted his head in my direction and I scrunched up my features into a funny face. I don't know what made me do it. I just think he needed comforting more than I did.

It surprised him into a snort. It was kind of cool to watch his face take on a smile like that. He bumped me in the shoulder, like I had.

"So . . ." I trailed off.

"So . . . Do you want to talk? Or should I start?"

I laughed. "Well, do you have something to say?"

There was a long moment of silence where we just sat there. We were both looking at the same thing: the sun. Sometimes I would close my eyes and watch the multicolored spots dance on the black canvas of my eyelids.

"Sorry." I looked away from the sun quickly to stare at my father. I could only see the outline of him thanks to the blinding sun. "I should've . . . should _be_ treating you better. I guess, I just can't take it. All or nothing, you know? If I have you, I just want Toph here. But now that I know about you . . . I would want you if it was Toph that was here."

I nodded. "S'okay." I looked at the sun for a moment again before turning back to him. "You're a guy—I can't really expect you to know what you want anyway."

It was one of those jokes that just seemed to bounce off everything, making it come back and back and back. It was a little awkward and I wished I just hadn't said anything. He smiled at me though, and it was a smile I think he would've given Mom if she pulled something like that. I smiled back.

"Did she ever want to come back?" he asked after awhile. We were both lying down by then looking up in the sky. I almost wished it was night time so we could see the stars but I guess it was okay.

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. "She would tell me stories all the time. They always made her really happy to think about but then she would get really tired and she wouldn't talk to me for a while." I looked over at my dad. "Her stories always made me wish that I could just runaway from her and come here. But then, at the same time, they were the only things keeping me with her."

"What made you decide to come here, then?"

"I didn't understand anymore why I had to grow up in a place you weren't. If you were allowed to be there through stories, why couldn't you be allowed to be there in real life? So . . . I left."

"Will she ever come back?"

It was such a small change in wording, but it changed the question entirely. "I don't know."

He said something but the clatter of many footsteps and shouting drowned him out. "Fire Lord Zuko! Fire Lord Zuko!" A guard slammed into the fencing of the courtyard. "Fire Lord Zuko."

"What is it?" he said standing up and rushing over to the man, I followed him. Everything got really, really weird after that, because there was a crowd of people running towards the courtyard. In the front of the group was a man carrying a bundle covered in red. When they came a little closer I screamed, hurtling over the fence.

"Mom!"I yelled.

The man was cradling my mother gingerly. There was blood all over the place, dripping down her hanging right arm and smearing the man's rather muscley arm. There was something wrapped around her shoulder but it wasn't nearly thick enough and it was already drenched with the sticky red liquid. I wanted to throw up. I never really liked blood.

"Get her into the closest chamber," the Fire Lord said. I marveled at how forceful he sounded, but I could tell he was freaking out by the wild look in his eyes. It was almost surreal—the timing of things. "You," he continued pointing at the guard who had been screaming bloody murder. "Get the doctor."

My eyes widened and I clutched at Mom's dangling arm because her lips began to twitch. She kept her eyes closed; it probably took too much energy, which, of course didn't matter since she was blind. "Zuko," she mumbled. Everyone went silent. It felt like time was freezing in the spaces between me and my parents.

My dad stumbled forward. He placed his fingers on Mom's cheek. "I'm here, Toph."

"It hurts, Sparky." I noticed that there were crusty stains around Mom's eyes that I knew could only be tears. But she wasn't crying now and neither was my father. Mom was too exhausted to cry and Dad was too shocked.

"Ursa."

I jumped at my name. I was too busy staring at the unconscious form of my mother. I don't think I had ever seen her so . . . knocked out. Sure, she slept like a rock for 12 hours straight every day but she was never this pale. It looked like she could survive the wound, but if she kept bleeding like she was there would be no hope. "Yeah?"

"Get Tyro."

Weird. Why would he need him? "Why?" I grimaced, immediately realizing that that probably wasn't the best thing to say at the time being. "Uh . . . I mean sure." I gave my head a shake and ran off in the direction of the east wing. I hoped that he was in his room because if he wasn't I had no idea where else to look. I hardly even knew the place. When I passed my bedroom door I heard voices coming from the room next to mine. It sounded like whoever was in there was having a good shouting match.

I rushed over to the door, hesitating briefly at the raised voices before pounding on the rich wood with my fist. "Open up! Tyro! My dad, he nee—"

The door opened and I nearly lost my balance. I looked up at Sokka's reddened face. He looked like he was about to pop an artery or something. Mom already did that for him so he really didn't have to bother himself with all that. "Ursa, this really isn't the time."

I ignored him, craning my neck to get a good look at Tyro who was pacing back and forth. "Tyro, come on. My dad needs you." When he didn't make any move to follow me I turned back to Sokka. "My mom is back. Sh-she's covered in b-blood."

"I'm coming," he said quickly. He shoved past his father. "Anything to get out of there," he mumbled.

"Wait, Toph's back? When? What do you mean she's covered in blood? Hey! I'm coming with you, slow down!"

There goes that artery.

All three of us started to rush back the way I had come. "She just showed up. She was being carried by some man. He didn't look like a guard. I think he was just a regular Fire Nation citizen. Mom has a wound on her right side. It isn't massive or anything but it's still bleeding, and then my dad told me to get you," I said turning to Tyro. His disinterested look frustrated me. "Why would he need _you_?" I bristled

He glanced at me, before laughing.

"Tyro is a waterbender," Sokka supplied. "He has the same healing powers my sister has."

"But isn't Katara here, for my dad's birthday?" I asked confused.

Sokka shrugged. "Aang probably had some Avatar business to handle and Katara went with him. It's happened a lot as of late thanks to rising tensions in the Earth Kingdom."

"Oh." I took a peek at Tyro from the corner of my eye. I didn't really expect him to be a bender. He was too confident in his dual hooks. Weird.

"So where'd they take her?" Sokka asked when the courtyard came into view and I began to slow down.

"Uh . . ." Good question.

Tyro chuckled, which annoyed me more. My mother was _bleeding_ and all her healer could do was _laugh_? I sent him a withering glare. I kind of hoped he would look at me so his eyes would burst from his sockets.

"Just follow the trail of blood," he said, eye's (unfortunately) nowhere near mine.

I gulped. There was a trail of blood that belonged to my mother. I was beginning to feel lightheaded—everything was catching up with me. Questions were somersaulting and jumping and dancing inside my head.

How did she get hurt? Why is she here? Who attacked her? Those questions were of course at the forefront of my mind but there was this tiny little voice at the back of my head that kept whispering: _is she here to stay?_ I pushed that voice away. It sounded like my father's and it was too hopeful for me to handle at the moment.

I pushed the heels of my palms into my eyes, trying to stop my eyes from moving all over the place. "Alright," I said. "Let's follow the blood."

Less than a minute passed before we came to the end of the trail. It ended in a rather humble looking wooden door. I later found out it was the small quarters of a married couple who earned their living by serving the royal family. I turned the knob but the door wouldn't budge. I knocked on the door feeling somewhat ridiculous.

It was my father who opened the door. His eyes looked wild and his top knot had been undone so his hair looked even longer and unruly. He quickly widened the door letting us pass through.

I walked over to my mother who was lying in a bed that looked rather lumpy, though not uncomfortable. The old drenched wrappings had been removed and her tunic was torn so that most of her chest on her right side was bare. My jaw clenched. The wound looked horrible and fleshy. I was afraid that if she was to stand I would be able to see right through the hole in her chest to the wall behind her.

I felt something brush past me quickly and my eyes were torn away from Mom's still form. Tyro was standing over my mother now, inspecting the wound. "Water?" he asked. A guard cleared his throat and stepped forward with a basin filled to the brim with that life sustaining liquid. "The weapon was an arrow right?" he asked, looking around the room.

The man who had been carrying Mom earlier nodded his head tiredly. He raised the offending red arrow into the air. "Yeah." Everyone's attention turned back to Tyro.

I couldn't help but be entranced as Tyro reached into the basin and pulled the water from it as if it was satin. The water that enveloped Tyro's hands began to glow when he touched my mother's chest.

He breathed in and out once before speaking. "The arrow grazed her lung and it's already begun to fill up with blood."

"You can heal her though, right?" my father said forcefully.

It was hard to tell from my angle but it looked like Tyro's eyes did that freaky flashing thing again. For a second I was afraid he would just let go of the water and walk out but then he nodded, his eyes back to their original bright blue color. "Yeah. I got it. Only a small amount of blood seems to have seeped through." He closed his eyes to concentrate.

"Can't you bend the blood out?" I asked. Katara could bloodbend, she probably taught Tyro.

His eyebrow twitched. "I don't think you understand. I hate bending." He gave me a smile so vicious that it turned my blood to ice. "Why would I master my element?"

"Yeah, now I'm _really_ confident that my mother will recover," I mumbled darkly.

There was a low gurgle of laughter coming from just under Tyro's elbow. Everyone craned their necks to watch the Fire Lady bare all her teeth in her signature mischievous grin. Many things happened all at once. First, I jumped. Secondly, the man I still had no name for collapsed to the floor in a generous bow. Thirdly, all the guards tensed, springing to attention if they hadn't before. Fourthly, both Sokka and my father nearly shoved me to the floor to get a better view of my mother. The only one who hadn't moved an inch was Tyro who had his head bowed, his hands still glowing from the water that was healing the hole in Mom's chest.

I gave him a calculating look. I _really_ didn't trust him. He was like a PMSing teenage girl.

Unreliable.

Suddenly the door slammed open. A man with a really pompous face walked in, adjusting his robes. He held a tablet crooked in the elbow of his left arm and an ink brush in his right hand. I recognized him as the doctor.

"Great timing, you've got there Doc. She's dead. You can go back to your bubble bath now," I hissed. Yeah the man had the audacity to walk in here late with bubbles in his hair. Sure if he was a little quicker it would be fine.

Mom laughed again and I heard Tyro release a chortle as well.

What did I tell you? PMSin'.

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A/N: I'm not sure about this… but I kinda liked it.

Please review….

Oh and yeah Tyro is a waterbender ^_^ more sexy or less? You tell me.


	10. That Demonic Innocence aka Toph

**A/N: ****Sorry it's taken me so long to update. *awkward face*. School is a killer and I'm trying to get all these history/science fair things finished. Ughhh. This was actually supposed to be chapter 11 but Chapter 10 can work as the new chapter 11. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothingggg**

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"You have no _idea_ how happy I am you have returned to this wonderful palace, m'Lady," The doctor sucked up in that pretentious way of his. Little bubbles were dripping over his ear and onto his shoulder. "You are quite a lucky lady I managed to get here when I did, if I must say," he finished jotting down some notes.

I rolled my eyes. Since only a very small amount of people knew I was really the Fire Lord's daughter, the doctor gave me an earful after my "disrespectful" and "discourteous" comment. Oh and insolent, he called me insolent.

Then the Fire Lord gave _him_ an earful for _threatening_ me, his daughter. Biotch.

Okay, okay. Maybe I'm a little biased.

Either way the royal doctor (pain in the ass more like it), Ziti was back to butt kissing which I'm convinced was his true profession. He also shoved Tyro to the side, leaving my mother not only drenched in blood but also in water. Sokka's son moved to stand next to me as far from Ziti as possible.

I gave him a panicked look, my eyes flitting from him to my mother and then back to him. He placed a hand on my shoulder, before mumbling, "I healed her enough. She's good."

"Zuko?" Mom said. I mentally cringed. The way her voice shook reminded me of all the times she acted the parent and I acted the misbehaving child. Zuko moved closer to his wife, but he did not touch her. Except for the space bracelet (courtesy of a younger Sokka). It was wrapped around her upper arm like it always was and my father tapped it with his finger. He was letting her seem him.

I wasn't sure how I felt about the sudden added mushyness my heart decided to become.

I think it and the mixture of the blood would, ultimately make me throw up, but I held it down.

"What happened . . . to Hiro, he . . . was a much better . . . doctor." It seemed to be hard for her to speak but I think she was doing fine. Her eyes were open now which meant she was trying to stay awake and her bare feet were twitching with longing to reunite with the stone floor.

I glanced at Ziti, who was gaping at Mom. He was completely _aghast._

Good.

"Vacation," Dad answered with a grin. "They are brothers."

"Waterbender?" my mother called out with a roll of her eyes. Tyro twitched from beside me and took a step forward. His eyes were flashing again. "You did . . . a far better job than . . . the _doctor_ at making me . . . feel better."

Sokka smiled along with everyone else, patting Ziti on the back. "Enjoy the last of your bubble bath there, man."

Ziti dejectedly made his way out of the room. Thank Agni.

"Sokka?" Mom called out. "You're here?"

It was quiet for a really long time. Somehow this whole situation had become some sort of dramatic play write. The guards were unashamedly staring at my mother and father. Two of the lightly armed men had their fingers crossed probably hoping for some heartfelt tears and maybe a kiss or two. The Fire Nation citizen was running his hands through his hair over and over, clutching at the broken arrow like it was his life line. Sokka was about to cry, I could just tell. I didn't want to be here anymore.

"Yeah," he finally answered. "I missed you, Toph."

"I missed you too, Snoozles," she said smiling.

Tyro had his head bowed as he picked up his bending like before. It looked like he was trying to become a turtle. He didn't want to be here anymore than I did. He must have felt me staring because he looked over at me. For a moment I felt like I understood him or I could at least relate to him. His eyes darkened for a moment before returning back to normal. It was _freaky_. It was too much for me to handle.

I rushed to the door hoping to escape before anyone (i.e. my mother) tried to stop me. I had almost made it when the door opened. _Again_, mind you.

It was a woman everyone knew as the beautiful, talented, psycho—that's right you guessed it.

Princess Azula.

I wheeled on my father, a finger pointing accusingly at the woman, who, you know, could quite possibly shoot me down quicker than I can say "agni kai". "What is _she_ doing without a _leash_?" I flinched, my eyes squinting closed waiting for the pain, which never came.

I looked at the fallen princess, who looked amused despite her sneer. "Hm," she said, before pushing past me towards the sick bed of my mothers. "Khol told me about your daughter, Zuzu. She's got a very pretty face," she tutted.

I brought the tips of my fingers to my cheeks. She said that like it was a bad thing.

"Doesn't she, Tyro?" she continued, taking a seat in a wooden chair in the corner.

He glanced at me with a smirk. "Yeah sure."

I rolled my eyes.

"Oh," Azula kept going. "Hello, Tophy. I didn't see you there."

Mom ignored her, closing her eyes. "Tyro was it?"

"Yeah," said boy replied.

"I'm feeling better you can stop now."

"Finally," he grumbled, slipping the water back into the basin. There was sweat trickling down his temple and I noticed for the first time just how warm it had gotten in that room.

"There are too many people in here," I complained quietly. "I'll just leave, give you guys more space, you know?"

"No," Azula said slowly. "I came here to speak with you, Ursa."

"Psh," I said. Why was I acting so weird all of a sudden? "Why would you want to speak with little ol' me?"

The woman rolled her eyes, turning to her brother, who, honestly only had eyes for Mom at that moment. "Oh Fire Lord," she taunted in a sing-song voice. "What do you plan to do with this daughter of yours?"

My father looked utterly confused at the turn of conversation. I sighed, finding a chair quickly to collapse into. Tyro was sitting on the floor wiping at his sweaty face not too far away from me. Dad was sitting on the bed next to Mom and Sokka was hanging on one of the bed posts. I silently hoped the guards would leave. I didn't want them knowing what my father had planned for me.

Heck, _I_ didn't want to know what my father had planned for me.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked focusing on his deranged sister.

"Is Ursa the heir now?" she asked, cutting to the chase.

It was quiet for a long time after that. I knew it wasn't my question to answer but I couldn't help but think about it. Was I? Honestly, I didn't know. It wasn't something I was totally expecting either. I had only come here to meet my father—that was it. All my plans stopped there. I never meant to meat Longshot and his family; I never meant to meet a person like Tyro or a little devil like Kohl; I never in a million years thought about meeting my father's mistress, or their son; I never imagined Azula (my aunt . . . scary, I know) barging into an overcrowded room demanding to know if I was the new heir.

Obviously, I don't think things through.

Did I want to be heir? I glanced at my father from under my eyelashes hoping that no one would notice. Alas, Azula had made me the center of attention, so they noticed. I looked at the _ancient_ and _traditional_ hairpiece that hung loose on just a few clumps of hair. Did I want that?

I looked away undecided.

"Azula, can you leave?" He said his sister's name slow, almost patient, but the rest of the words came out blunt and scathing.

"It's just a simple question, Zuzu," she complained, mocking innocence.

"No it isn't. Ursa arrived here _yesterday_. I haven't even had time to call a meeting to discuss the matter, and _then_!" he practically yelled, throwing his arms up in the air. "My _wife_ shows up covered in blood. Do you _really think_ I'm thinking about my heir?"

Azula shrugged. "So you've been a bit busy, I don't see why that would hinder you from coming to a de—"

"Leave," he said running his hand down his face. "You're annoying me."

"Fine," Azula huffed, bringing herself to her feet. I watched her guardedly as she made her way across the room. When she came close to me she scrambled for my chin as if she had received an epiphany. Eventually she let go, spitting on the floor disgusted. "You remind me of my mother."

Finally she disappeared. Dad gestured for the other guards to follow her at a distance. It was getting to hot in this makeshift hospital wing.

"She's gotten better," Mom says suddenly, with a bit more strength. "That was almost boring."

"Mom," I said suddenly. When everyone remaining—Dad, Tyro, Sokka and Mystery Man—became still I realized that I had not yet spoken to her at all. "Can you tell us what happened to you?"

"Ursa, come here," she said sternly.

Eesh. What did I do wrong now?

When I was close she lifted her good arm and wrapped it around my neck in a hug. Mom wasn't the most affectionate of beings. The only times she showed emotions were almost always in a fight, so to have her hug me . . . well that meant something big. I put my hand on her arm and buried my face in her neck. I hadn't realized how much I missed just the smell of her in the past forty-eight hours.

"I'm proud of you, Inferno," she said. I let out a sound that was a mixture of a sob and laughter at the nickname she gave me when I was six. I had almost burnt the entire house down.

"I'm happy you're here, Mom," I said brushing away a lonely tear. "Do you want me to wrap that for you?" I said gesturing towards her wound even though she couldn't see it. It was oozing blood again, but slowly and at least it was clean. I glanced at Tyro, giving him a thankful look.

"Yeah, that would probably be best."

I smiled, looking around the room for something that could pass for gauze. Sokka noticed and reached over me at the bedside table where the idiot Ziti had left his sack of doctorliness. I rolled my eyes, taking the gauze from Sokka's hand and began to work.

"Are you here to stay?" Sokka said suddenly. He didn't sound funny, or hopeful like he most always does. He sounded like he was in a war meeting. There was this look on his face—a look that made me feel sad. His eyes were a window to all the horrible things he had seen and experienced with my mother. I could tell that if he was hurting when my Mom left the first time, it would break him if she left again. I looked at my father. He was no different from his friend.

"Of course she's staying," Tyro suddenly spoke up. All eyes were on him.

"Oh really?" I could hear the grin in Mom's voice when she spoke.

"Really," he returned just as challengingly. "You set _this_," he brought up his hand to wave a piece of cloth with writing on it, "all up."

"What is that, Tyro?" Sokka said, suspiciously.

"A warning. It fell out of her hand when I was healing her." Tyro handed it to his father to inspect. I quickly tied a knot and then another so I could look at it as well.

"It says . . . 'You're in' ? What the hell does 'you're in' mean?" Sokka said confused.

"Toph," Dad said, suddenly grinning like a maniac. "What exactly did you set up?"

Mom shrugged as she struggled to keep a smile from her face. "The arrow was a Yu Yan arrow wasn't it? And I believe it's the Dai Li who has taken leadership over the Yu Yan archers, yes?" She paused, her fingers twiddling over the surface of her space bracelet. "I just gave you a reason to get involved in the civil war in the Earth Kingdom."

"You're brilliant!" Everyone watched as my father suddenly leaned in and clamped his hands on either side of my mother's face and kissed her. I'd rather not describe this kiss because they got pretty into it at the end. I probably should've felt awkward watching it, I did but I think the happiness overwhelmed that awkwardness.

Suddenly, Mom yelped in pain. It wasn't a sound I associated with her so when it reached my ears my entire body tensed. She was breathing heavily, her good arm clutching at the gauze. I reached out and pulled her hand away afraid that her sudden movement would reopen the wound but it was too late. Her fingertips were tinged with red and the gauze was quickly soaking up fresh blood.

"Well," Mom gasped, her voice still etched with pain. "That was embarrassing." After another breath Mom fell asleep, her eyes twitching every once and a while from beneath her lids. I took the time to notice that she was covered in grime and sweat and I was overcome with the intense urge to embrace her.

Tyro was by my side once again with glowing water encasing his hand. He instructed me to remove the gauze carefully after which his cooling hands covered Mom's gaping hole. Sokka was having a hard time concealing his laughter, much less pointing at the Fire Lord mirthfully. Dad sent him a withering look which honestly made me want to shit my pants.

"It was beautiful," the Mystery Man uttered, his voice level but weak. Everyone turned to him. Waiting to hear what he had to say. "She just spoke to us," he continued his head shaking miraculously, "like she had known us all her life, all of _our_ lives. My mother always used to tell me that Fire Lady Toph gave something back to the Fire Nation the day she married the Fire Lord."

There were tears in this man's eyes now and I crouched beside him and with the clean edges of the old gauze I mopped up as much of Mom's blood as I could from his arm.

"What did she give back?" Sokka said quickly, entranced by the man's humble words.

He gave a chuckle—a chuckle that quickly became a hearty laugh. I couldn't help but smile at his apparent happiness. "It might sound cheesy but she gave this country innocence. Pure happiness that hasn't been felt in over a century suddenly overtook everyone. And it doesn't even matter that she left once." He locked his eyes with me, as if trying to get me to understand just how amazing my mother really was. "She's back now and so is the happiness."

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**A/N:**** pleas reviewww and I hoped you liked it. It was kind of painful to write but I think I did a good job with it :)**


	11. I Can Feel It Creeping Up On Me

**Chapter 11:**

Toph awoke to the slightly annoying but completely intoxicating sensation of Zuko trailing kisses down her exposed throat. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders holding him to her. He was always so warm in the mornings—being near him for that alone had become an addiction throughout their nights spent together.

"Bad," she mumbled groggily. "You're bad." He wasn't supposed to be here, not in her bed, not yet. Goose bumps traveled across her skin when he laughed into her neck. Toph rolled into him but he pushed her back to hover on top of her.

"I don't care," he kissed her jaw. "You're mine anyway." He kissed her on the lips now. Then with a sudden burst of false concern he pulled away. "Don't tell me you're worried about your _reputation_?"

Toph snorted. "You took care of my _reputation_ months ago, remember?" Zuko's eyes closed when she moved her body against him the most delicious of ways. He quickly closed the much hated distance with his lips firmly planted on hers. Toph buried her fingers into his hair when his tongue started to wreak havoc on her own.

"On the other hand," Toph smirked pushing Zuko away roughly to land in a heap on a pillow. He let out a frustrated sigh into the sheets but otherwise did not move. "Maybe you'd want to wait to ruin me. Yasu will be here any minute to fix me up for the ceremony. I'd rather she not interrupt us mid-romp."

Zuko picked his head up and grinned. "What a way with words you have, Squirt." The Fire Lord pressed his leg against hers. He wanted nothing to do with public affairs today, but of course he had to get married. And of course he was the Fire Lord and that meant whoever he married would become Fire Lady. Unfortunately, that particular circumstance was listed under "public" in the _Fire Lord Handbook_. Okay . . . there wasn't actually a Fire Lord handbook, but Zuko had to blame the conspiracy on _something_.

"I know," she beamed angelically. "Now get out."

"I want more," he complained almost like a child, throwing his weight across the length of her body. Toph knew he was far more dangerous than a mere child, though.

"Stop being so greedy," she breathed against his jaw.

Zuko dropped his voice to a whisper that he had used once, a long time ago to instill fear. "I'm king."

His words made Toph giggle where others would cower. She pressed her lips against his lingeringly. "You're merely a man to me. A lowly one, a humble one."

Zuko stared into her beautiful foggy eyes. He was so happy they were finally getting married.

"Now stop shoving your penis where it isn't welcome."

Zuko laughed as she led him to her chamber door and pushed him into the magnificent halls of the Fire Nation Palace. She had a wedding to go to.

O.0.O.0.O

When Yasu's footsteps from down the hall began to vibrate beneath her feet Toph moaned. Pulling a comb through her hair she thought, _Agni, have mercy._ Honestly Ozai could not terrify her more than Yasu could. The old hags voice was high and a little too musical to be becoming. She pinched Toph's cheeks, pulled her hair too hard, and shoved powder into her eyes and nose. Yasu, wraps the Fire Lady to be in silks much too tight, much too extravagant, and much too warm for a volcanic island.

Toph could feel the woman just outside the door. She winced, dreading the next hour or so.

But worst of all, Yasu rubbed this sticky ink-like liquid all over Toph's lips. Every time she licked her lips, Toph felt like she was consuming poison.

The lock on the door clicked. Yep. Yasu had a key.

"Good_ morning_, Lady Toph," Yasu said rather tightly.

Toph flashed her teeth in what she hoped contained just the right amount of menace. Yasu had a horrible, and stomach churning habit of stressing nearly every other word each time she opened her mouth.

_When I'm Fire Lady, I'll make sure they fire you_.

Literally.

"_Sit_, Lady. We _must_ move _quickly_!"

Toph sighed before sitting on the cushion placed before a large mirror. She tried her hardest not to wince, not to make a sound, not to reveal herself to that awful woman. Yasu ripped at her hair, and she took it. Yasu made it impossible for her to breathe and she did it anyway.

But when Yasu layered her lips with that sticky _tar_, she lost it. Her throat constricted, her eyes slammed shut like earthen doors with no crack to be found. She wanted to scream.

Because of just the simplest of make ups, Toph, the Blind Bandit, Master Earthbender, future Fire Lady was reduced to the smallest person in the world. The most helpless blind little girl that she was before the badgermoles found her. The insecure _cripple_ that couldn't even blow on her own soup. A child, whose parents wished could be perfect.

"_Don't_ you dare _cry_. You're _face_ will be _ruined!" _Yasu screeched.

But it was too late.

O.0.O.0.O  
PRESENT DAY—URSA  
O.0.O.0.O

My father's been spending a lot of time with Mom lately and thanks to Tyro's healing abilities she's been conscious for most of it. Most of my time these past few days have been spent sitting outside her new, much cooler, much roomier bedchambers. The Fire Nation officials wouldn't allow her back into the same room as her husband's but at least it was down the hall. Today I was leaning under a painting of my grandmother, Fire Lady Ursa. It was odd because while I looked like my mother, I looked like my namesake too.

"Magical," Ty Lee had said once referring to the painting above my head. "You look like Zuko's mother so much, but then not at all and all of a sudden all I can see is an earthbender."

She had come to visit with Mom and Dad, holding a polished tin platter of biscuits. I still felt uncomfortable around her—no matter how hard I tried I couldn't understand her nor her relations ship with my father. With my mother even.

Of course Mom had told me stories about her and they had become friends later . . . _later_, later in the war but every time I saw the Fire Lords mistress I saw something different. She was hiding something.

Azula came to visit once. I have to admit I was terrified but calmer than I felt when she bombarded the hot, overcrowded makeshift hospital room. She tossed a scroll at my head saying something about me looking too depressing all the time and that I should get my mind off things. The scroll was filled with Fire Nation politics and although every policy and every case I read about was long and tedious, I was intrigued.

I had this weird, sick feeling that my aunt was trying to . . . train me.

I wasn't sure if I should throw up or try to kill myself. To be trained by Azula . . .

Eeech.

Mostly the scroll was about history but it was far more advanced compared to the low-quality school Mom made me attend occasionally. Despite the murkiness of the past 100 sum years, reading about the Fire Nation shook something in me. I felt like a jar of fireflies. Everything I read sounded more and more like poetry the further in the past I got.

It was around noon, and the sun from outside was bathing my legs in warmth—it was making my eyes feel heavy. I had been up for most of the night, worrying about my Mom, thinking about my Dad. Tyro's been treating Mom every four hours for the past five days, and most of the time he'll take me with him. We've sort of stayed by each other's side for most of the week and I haven't felt the need to tear my hair out. I'm waiting, though, for when I'll need to set something on fire.

Sometimes we got a long okay despite most of the times where it's best we didn't say a word. I felt indebted to him in a way for helping my mother so much. He hasn't gotten a full night's sleep since and I've only heard him complain to his father behind closed doors—never in front of me. A lot of times I found myself thinking back to just a few nights ago when he caught me eavesdropping outside my father's room. He told me he wasn't a nice person then, and every time I remember it I hear his voice: Teasing, haunting, terrifying, dark, cruel, smooth, and petrified. The more I turn it over in my head the more I realize he's nothing worse than a liar.

The door clicked and whipped around. My father closed the door behind him, a silly grin on his face. I raised an eyebrow. "How is she?"

"Fine," he said still grinning. "She can move her arm now without causing damage. She's trying to sleep now but she wants you to be there when she wakes up."

"Okay," I said, tying up my scroll before getting to my feet. My father placed his hand on my head. It was a heavy feeling that made me feel instantly better about everything that was going on. His thumb brushed at my bangs a little and he stared into my eyes.

"I don't think I've ever thanked you for coming back," he said softly. I stared back at him silent, expecting. "I mean you came here for yourself, and I know that, but without you I wouldn't have her back."

"_Do you_ have her back?" I asked, my fingers twitching on the scroll Azula had given me. Their marriage had never been annulled in Mom's absence, something the Fire Lord fought for stubbornly. Even with that in mind, would the officials allow her back after so long? When an heir has already been crowned. I thought of Lu Minh, that sweet boy that tried to help me get in trouble the first night I stayed in this palace. What will my coming here cause for him?

Dad's expression darkened a little and I didn't blame him. I was being hard. His hand fell to my shoulder where he gave me a squeeze before stalking off towards the kitchens.

I slipped into Mom's room. She was, as Dad had said, asleep. Tyro was bending water over her. The hole didn't look as daunting as it had the first day, but it still looked delicate and so easy to damage. The skin around it looked tightened and shriveled like a grape dying in the sun. I pulled the stool my father sat in whenever he visited her next to Tyro. He looked over at me and gave me a small twitch that on normal people would've been a smile.

He looked exhausted. "Go sleep," I said, gesturing at the futon that had been placed outside on the balcony.

Tyro shook his head. "I'm not tired," he lied.

I shrugged. Fine then.

I turned my attention back to my mother. She wasn't covered in sweat and grime and blood anymore. She looked peaceful and much more calm than she ever did in our little shack of a home. She was born for this life of luxury. What took her away from a part of her that was so natural?

"Your parents," Tyro said suddenly. His eyebrows were scrunched together and he bit at his lip. I caught a glimpse of his light blue eyes. I don't think I've ever seen them so lucid. "They really love each other," he sounded almost confused by the statement. "I mean I'm here all the time and they talk, and it's kind of weird but I get the feeling they've become blind to everything else."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Tyro never spoke like this. Usually all a person could hear from him was insults and snarky remarks.

"Well, I don't think they know I'm here a lot of the time. Mostly everyone notices me, because of who I am."

"You mean who your father is," I corrected.

His eyes flashed dark then back again. "No. It's me."

Then he turned away and I knew the moment was over.

"I envy them," I said quickly. He looked at me questioningly. "They don't notice you," I finished trying to lighten the weight that had wafted into the room. Despite the spaciousness of Mom's new bedchambers I felt like the walls were always trying to crush me.

Tyro smirked. "You can't help but notice this sexy piece of yummy."

I glared at him before escaping to the balcony where I could hopefully catch some sleep.

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A/N: It's been forrrreverrrr I know, and I'm just as upset about it too. I've wanted to get this chapter out for so long it's been painful and finally taddaaa!

The first bit with Toph getting ready for her wedding will be continued, don't worry.

I'm not sure how long it will be until my next update but I wanted all you guys to know that I HAVE NOT given up on this story and I love love love all the support you've given me. Really because of you I've gotten this far.

Sadly, I'm addicted to chocolate of the "review" species.

Can I have some chocolate? lol


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